U.S. Presidents / Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

1913 - 1994

Richard Nixon

In any organization, the man at the top must bear the responsibility. That responsibility, therefore, belongs here, in this office. I accept it. Address to the Nation about the Watergate Investigations

Overview

Schoolchildren absorb at least one fact about Richard Milhous Nixon: He was the first and (so far) the only President of the United States to resign the office. Before the spectacular fall, there was an equally spectacular rise. In a half-dozen years, he went from obscurity to a heartbeat from the presidency, winning a congressional race (1946), national prominence in the Alger Hiss spy case (1948), a Senate seat (1950), and the vice presidency (1952). John F. Kennedy interrupted Nixon's ascent in 1960, winning the presidency by the narrowest margin of the twentieth century.

Fast Facts

Richard Milhous Nixon
Yorba Linda, California
Whittier College (1934); Duke University Law School (1937)
Society of Friends (Quaker)
Lawyer, Public Official
Republican
None
June 21, 1940, to Thelma “Patricia” Catherine Ryan (1912–1993)
Patricia (1946– ); Julie (1948– )
37
Yorba Linda, California
Ken Hughes

Chicago Style

Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Richard Nixon.” Accessed November 16, 2024. https://millercenter.org/president/nixon.

Ken Hughes

Ken Hughes coordinates the team of scholars reviewing and transcribing President Richard M. Nixon’s White House tapes, as part of the Presidential Recordings Project at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Secret White House Tapes