Nixon Portrait

Color photograph of the head and shoulders of a man in a suit and tie.

Richard Milhous Nixon was born January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California.  Nixon attended Whittier College and Duke University Law School.  Nixon and his wife, Pat, moved to Washington to work for the Office of Price Administration in 1942. Nixon was later elected to California's 12th congressional district in 1945 beginning his political career which would direct him to Dwight D. Eisenhower's choice for Vice President in the 1952 election.  After three terms as Vice President, Nixon decided to run for president.

Richard Nixon secured the Republican presidential candidacy for the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy. Nixon lost the election in one of the closets races in history. Nixon returned to his role as vice president after the defeat and returned to California to practice law after his term ended only to run for Governor of California in 1962 against incumbent Pat Brown. Nixon lost to Brown by 5% of the vote.  In 1968, Nixon ran for President for the second time and finally won the presidency making him the 37th President of the United States serving from 1969 to 1974.  After the Watergate scandal, Nixon became the first president to resign from office.  Nixon's career ended after decades of service including service as a US Representative, Senator, 36th Vice President and President.