Richard Nixon Timeline

Richard Nixon 44

1912 – 1993 Pat Nixon (1912-1993) Died 22 June 1993, aged 81 Pat Nixon served as First Lady of the United States during Richard Nixon's presidency from 1969 to 1974. She was known for her extensive travel and volunteer work promoting civic engagement. She died of lung cancer at her home in Park Ridge, New Jersey.
1940 Richard Nixon marries Pat Ryan They met at a community play rehearsal in Whittier She had turned him down for two years before agreeing.
1942 Richard Nixon takes a Navy commission Service in the Pacific theatre A Quaker who could have claimed exemption, he enlisted anyway and ran air transport on Green Island.
1946 Richard Nixon is elected to the House California's 12th district, beating Jerry Voorhis A bruising first campaign that set the pattern for the ones that followed.
1948 The Alger Hiss hearings Nixon drives the HUAC investigation The case made him a national figure and a hero of the anti-communist right.
1950 Richard Nixon is elected to the Senate Beating Helen Gahagan Douglas after a brutal campaign He called her pink right down to her underwear. She called him Tricky Dick, and the name stuck.
1952 The Checkers speech Sixty million viewers, one cocker spaniel Accused of a slush fund and close to being dropped from the ticket, Nixon went on television and saved himself.
1953 – 1961 Richard Nixon becomes vice president Under Eisenhower, 1953-1961 He stood in three times while Eisenhower was ill, and turned a ceremonial job into a platform.
1959 Nixon and Khrushchev hold the "Kitchen Debate" Impromptu Cold War exchange at a Moscow exhibition Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in an unscripted, televised debate over capitalism and communism while touring a model American kitchen at a U.S. exhibition in Moscow. The exchange became a defining moment of Cold War public diplomacy. It was widely covered in the press on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
1960 The first televised presidential debate Nixon against Kennedy, in front of 70 million Radio listeners thought Nixon won. Television viewers saw a sweating man who had refused make-up.
1960 Richard Nixon loses to John F. Kennedy By roughly 100,000 votes out of 68 million One of the closest results in American history, and one Nixon chose not to contest.
1962 You won't have Nixon to kick around any more After losing the California governor's race His concession to the press was taken as the end of his career. It was not.
1968 Richard Nixon is elected president Over Humphrey and Wallace, on a law-and-order platform Six years after his political obituary had been written, he won the White House.
1969 Nixon inaugurated Richard Nixon becomes 37th US President Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States on January 20, 1969, succeeding Lyndon B. Johnson.
1969 – 1974 Nixon presidency 37th President — resigned 1974 Richard Nixon served as the 37th President from January 20, 1969 until his resignation on August 9, 1974 — the only US president to resign. He opened relations with China, ended the Vietnam War, and created the EPA before Watergate destroyed his presidency.
1969 Nixon calls the Moon President makes historic telephone call President Nixon placed a telephone call to the Moon from the Oval Office, telling Armstrong and Aldrin: "This certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made."
1969 Nixon Doctrine Announced Nixon outlines reduced US ground involvement in Asian wars President Richard Nixon announced what became known as the Nixon Doctrine on 25 July 1969, stating that the United States would help allies defend themselves but would no longer commit large numbers of American ground troops to wars in Asia. The policy underpinned the Vietnamization of the Vietnam War.
1970 Nixon announces the Cambodian incursion Widening the war he had promised to end The broadcast set off protests on campuses across the country within days.
1970 Kent State Shootings Ohio National Guard kills four student protesters Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed students protesting the US invasion of Cambodia at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine. The shootings triggered a nationwide student strike and became a defining image of opposition to the Vietnam War. A photograph of a student kneeling over one of the victims became one of the most reproduced images of the era.
1971 Pentagon Papers Published Leaked Vietnam War documents expose government deception The New York Times began publishing a classified Department of Defense history of US involvement in Vietnam, leaked by analyst Daniel Ellsberg. The papers revealed that successive administrations had misled the public about the war's scope and chances of success. The Nixon administration's attempt to block publication was rejected by the Supreme Court.
1971 Nixon Shock Ends Gold Convertibility United States suspends the dollar's convertibility to gold President Richard Nixon unilaterally ended the convertibility of the US dollar into gold, effectively terminating the Bretton Woods international monetary system. The move, paired with a 90-day wage and price freeze, was intended to combat inflation and a worsening balance of payments. It ushered in the era of floating exchange rates that continues today.
1971 The enemies list Critics marked for retaliation by the White House Drawn up by Charles Colson's office and made public during the Senate hearings two years later.
1971 The Plumbers burgle Ellsberg's psychiatrist Looking for material to discredit the leaker of the Pentagon Papers The same unit would break into the Watergate nine months later.
1972 Nixon visits China Historic diplomacy President Nixon's 1972 visit to China broke 23 years of diplomatic isolation, opening relations between the US and the People's Republic.
1972 SALT I and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed Nixon and Brezhnev cap the US-Soviet arms race President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. The agreements froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers each side could deploy. It marked a high point of Cold War detente.
1972 Watergate break-in Burglars caught wiretapping Democratic Party offices Five men were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The break-in and subsequent cover-up unraveled over the following two years, eventually forcing President Nixon's resignation. The word "Watergate" became a global shorthand for political scandal.
1972 Nixon re-elected in landslide Incumbent wins 49 of 50 states over McGovern Richard Nixon defeated Democratic challenger George McGovern in one of the largest landslides in U.S. presidential history, winning the electoral college 520 to 17. The victory came just months after the Watergate break-in, whose implications were not yet widely understood by voters.
1973 The Paris Peace Accords Ending direct American involvement in Vietnam Nixon called it peace with honour. The fighting between North and South resumed within months.
1973 The Senate Watergate hearings open Televised live, gavel to gavel Millions watched Sam Ervin's committee take the administration apart witness by witness.
1973 – 1974 Watergate scandal Nixon resigns The break-in at the Watergate complex and subsequent cover-up led to the only resignation of a sitting US President, Richard Nixon, in August 1974.
1973 Alexander Butterfield reveals the taping system Every conversation in the Oval Office had been recorded A routine question to a minor aide turned the investigation into a fight over tapes.
1973 Spiro Agnew resigns as vice president Pleading no contest to tax evasion Unrelated to Watergate, and it cost Nixon his insurance policy against impeachment.
1973 The Saturday Night Massacre Nixon orders the special prosecutor fired The attorney general and his deputy resigned rather than do it. Public opinion turned that weekend.
1973 I am not a crook To 400 newspaper editors in Orlando Intended to settle questions about his finances, the line became the epitaph of his presidency.
1974 United States v. Nixon The Supreme Court orders the tapes handed over Eight to nothing, with three Nixon appointees voting against him.
1974 The House Judiciary Committee approves impeachment First article: obstruction of justice Two more articles followed within days, and Republican support collapsed.
1974 The smoking gun tape Nixon ordering the FBI off the case, six days after the break-in Released under court order, it destroyed what was left of his defence in the Senate.
1974 Nixon's resignation address I have never been a quitter He announced he would leave office at noon the next day, and never admitted to a crime.
1974 Nixon resigns Nixon resigns Richard Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974, the only American president to do so, three days after the release of a tape proving he had ordered the FBI investigation of the Watergate break-in to be obstructed. Impeachment and conviction were by then certain. Gerald Ford pardoned him a month later.
1974 Ford pardons Nixon Gerald Ford grants Richard Nixon a full pardon President Gerald Ford granted his predecessor Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes committed during the Watergate scandal. The pardon proved deeply controversial and is often cited as a factor in Ford's 1976 election loss.
1977 The Frost interviews Nixon paid 600,000 dollars for twelve hours of questions He came as close to an apology as he ever would: I let down my friends, I let down the country.
1990 The Nixon Library opens in Yorba Linda Privately funded, beside the house where he was born Four presidents attended. The Watergate exhibit was rewritten years later under federal control.
1994 Richard Nixon suffers a stroke At his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey He had left instructions refusing life support.
1994 Richard Nixon dies Aged 81, in New York All five living presidents attended the funeral in Yorba Linda.