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37 Fascinating Facts About The 37th President

  1. Born in a Yorba Linda farmhouse in 1913, Nixon moved to Whittier in 1922.
  2. Nixon graduated 2nd in his class at Whittier College and 3rd in his class at Duke University School of Law.
  3. Nixon returned to Whittier after law school and married Patricia Ryan at the nearby Mission Inn.
  4. In 1942, Nixon joined the Navy, serving in the South Pacific during World War II.
  5. Nixon was elected to Congress in 1946 and re-elected in 1948.
  6. Nixon led the House Un-American Activities Committee investigation of Soviet Spy Alger Hiss. Hiss was later sent to prison for perjury.
  7. In 1950, Nixon was elected to the U.S. Senate from California.
  8. Presidential candidate, Dwight D. Eisenhower, selected Nixon as his VP running mate in 1952. Together, they won by a huge majority and were re-elected in 1956.
  9. The famous “kitchen debate” with Russian Premier Khrushchev occurred during Nixon’s visit to Moscow to open the U.S. Trade Fair in 1959.
  10. In 1960, Nixon ran for President and lost to JFK by only 113,000 votes. Today, it’s still the closest election in history.
  11. After losing the election for California Governor in 1962, Nixon moved to New York to join an international law firm.
  12. In 1968, Nixon earned the nomination for President and beat VP Hubert Humphrey to win the election.
  13. In office, Nixon was determined to achieve peace with honor and end the war in Vietnam.
  14. Nixon created the Office of Minority Business Enterprise in 1969 to increase business opportunities for minorities in the United States.
  15. In 1969, Nixon worked to increase awareness for minority hiring by establishing the “Philadelphia Plan” and additional affirmative action programs.
  16. During his first term as President, Nixon successfully achieved voluntary desegregation of schools in seven Southern states.
  17. Nixon radically reoriented the Federal Native American policy, becoming the first President to encourage tribal self-determination.
  18. Nixon welcomed home the Apollo XI astronauts after their historic 1969 Moon landing.
  19. In 1970, Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency.
  20. Nixon abolished voter discriminatory tests by extending the Voting Rights Act in 1970.
  21. In 1971, Nixon declared war on cancer, launching a $100-million campaign to help fund and find a cure for cancer.
  22. Nixon was re-elected to office in 1972, defeating his opponent Senator George McGovern by a wide margin.
  23. In 1972, Nixon signed Title IX, a civil rights law that prohibits gender bias at colleges and universities receiving federal aid.
  24. Nixon sought to improve relations with China by becoming the first President to meet with Chinese leaders in Peking in 1972.
  25. In February 1972, Nixon issued the U.S.-China Shanghai Communique, which still governs Sino-U.S. relations today.
  26. Nixon attends the Summit I in Moscow in 1972 and became the first American President to make an official visit to the Soviet Union.
  27. Alongside Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev in Moscow, Nixon signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1) in 1972.
  28. Paris 1973, Nixon ended the war in Vietnam by signing the Historic Paris Peace Accords.
  29. May 24, 1973: Nixon hosted the largest dinner ever held at the White House to welcome the American POWs from Vietnam home.
  30. Nixon altered U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East dramatically by deepening ties with conservative and moderate Arab regimes.
  31. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Nixon gave extensive aid to Israel which Prime Minister Golda Meir later credited with saving her country.
  32. During his time office, Nixon appointed four justices to the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Warren Burger and a future Chief Justice, William Rehnquist.
  33. In 1974, Nixon resigned from the Presidency due to the events surrounding Watergate. He and his wife, Pat, returned to La Casa Pacifica in Orange County, CA.
  34. The Nixons retired to New York City and later moved to New Jersey where Richard Nixon wrote, traveled and advised Presidents on matters of foreign affairs.
  35. Nixon’s worked as a respected advisor was praised by four Presidents at the 1990 grand opening of the Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
  36. Nixon wrote ten best sellers on domestic and international affairs, as well as his memoirs.
  37. President and Mrs. Nixon had two daughters, Tricia and Julie. Tricia married Edward Cox in a beautiful White House wedding. They reside in New York and have one son, Christopher. Julie married David Eisenhower, grandson of America’s 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower. They reside outside of Philadelphia and have three children: Jennie, Alex, and Melanie.