Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. He was also the thirty-sixth Vice President (1953–1961) serving under Dwight D. Eisenhower. He is the only man to have been elected twice to the Vice Presidency and twice to the Presidency, and he was the fifth Republican President to be elected to two terms. Nixon is noted for his diplomatic foreign policy and moderate domestic policy, but he is also remembered as the first and only U.S. President to have ever resigned from office. His resignation came after a loss of support in Congress amidst impending impeachment proceedings related to the Watergate scandal.

Later years and death

In his later years Nixon worked to rehabilitate his public image, and enjoyed considerably more success than could have been anticipated at the time of his resignation. He gained great respect as an elder statesman in the area of foreign affairs, being consulted by both Democratic and Republican successors to the Presidency.

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Further tape releases, however, removed all doubt as to Nixon's involvement both in the Watergate cover-up and also the illegal campaign finances and intrusive government surveillance that were at the heart of the scandal.

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In July 2003, Jeb Stuart Magruder, a former Special Assistant to the President, alleged that Nixon had personally ordered the Watergate break-in by phone. Previously the only guilt that was alleged was his role in the cover up of the break-in.

Related Topics:
Jeb Stuart Magruder - Watergate

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Nixon wrote many books after his departure from politics, including his memoirs.

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While generally in good health, he was on lifelong warfarin anticoagulant therapy after multiple episodes of phlebitis or deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism starting in 1965 (these conditions would later contribute to his fatal stroke). He received surgery in 1974 for this problem (Barker et al 1997).

Related Topics:
Warfarin - Anticoagulant - Phlebitis - Deep vein thrombosis - Pulmonary embolism - 1965 - 1974

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On April 18, 1994, at 5:45 PM EDT, Nixon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke while preparing to eat dinner in his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. It was later determined that a blood clot that had formed in his upper heart as a result of his heart condition broke off and traveled to his brain. He was rushed to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, where his condition deteriorated over the next several days. He might have lived longer had he been resuscitated using extraordinary measures, such as a respirator, but he refused such treatments, as he had stated in his earlier hospital visits. On April 22, Nixon passed away at 9:08 PM at the age of 81. He was buried beside his wife Pat Nixon (who had died ten months earlier, on June 22, 1993, of lung cancer) on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California.

Related Topics:
April 18 - 1994 - Park Ridge - New Jersey - New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center - April 22 - Pat Nixon - June 22 - 1993 - Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace - Yorba Linda, California

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Acting on his family's wishes, Nixon did not receive a state funeral, as customary for former presidents. However, President Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, and California Republican Governor Pete Wilson spoke at the April 27 funeral—the first for an American president since that of Lyndon B. Johnson (a service Nixon himself attended when president) on January 25, 1973. Also in attendance at Nixon's funeral were former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and their respective first ladies. Nixon was survived by his two daughters Tricia and Julie, along with his four grandchildren.

Related Topics:
State funeral - Bill Clinton - Henry Kissinger - Bob Dole - Pete Wilson - April 27 - Lyndon B. Johnson - January 25 - 1973 - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - Ronald Reagan - George H. W. Bush - Tricia - Julie

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The Nixon Library contains only Nixon's pre- and post-presidential papers, as his presidential papers have been retained as government evidence. Nixon's attempts to protect his papers and gain tax advantages from them had been one of the important themes of the Watergate affair. Due to disputes over the papers, the library is privately funded and does not, like the other presidential libraries, receive support from the National Archives.

Related Topics:
Disputes over the papers - Presidential libraries - National Archives

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