Born: 1913, Yorba Linda, CA
Died: 1994

Reared in poverty, Richard Nixon showed his tenacity early on, working his way through Whittier College and Duke Law School. After naval service in World War II, he returned to California and was elected to the U.S. House and then the Senate. In 1952 Eisenhower picked the 39-year-old Senator to be his Vice-President — a job Nixon held for eight years. Nixon was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential race, but in 1968 he ran again and won.

As President, Nixon made great strides in foreign affairs. He visited China and the USSR and initiated Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) with the Soviets. In 1973, Nixon signed a peace accord with North Vietnam, finally extricating the nation from a conflict that had cost 58,000 American lives. But these achievements were overshadowed by a constitutional crisis at home. In June, 1972, a break-in was discovered at the Democrats’ National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building. The President denied knowledge of the incident, and went on to a landslide re-election victory in November. Slowly, however, evidence was amassed that implicated the White House. Senior Administration officials were caught in a cover-up that unraveled under mounting investigation. Threatened with impeachment, President Nixon resigned in 1974.

Thirty-Seventh President
Republican