Richard Nixon served as the 37th President of the United States from January 20, 1969, until August 9, 1974.
Born in Yorba Linda, California, on January 9, 1913, Nixon was a lawyer, a commissioned Navy officer during World War II, and a public official who was elected a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, Vice President, and ultimately President.
Nixon's tenure in office reflected the tumultuous era that coincided with his Presidency.
He presided over triumphs, such as the ending of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and the re-opening of American relations with China, and tragedies, most notably the controversial events that became known as Watergate, which resulted in Nixon becoming the only President to resign from office. He wrote his memoirs and several other bestselling books after leaving the White House and remained an active statesman on international relations and American foreign policy.
He passed away on April 22, 1994, at the age of 81.
The Museum
The Nixon Library's permanent gallery contains something for all ages, from an exact replica of the President's Oval Office to an extensive exhibit commemorating his historic trip to China. The museum features unique multimedia experiences, original films, custom digital interactives, curated archival film sequences, more than 600 photo-graphs, 8,000 square feet of wall murals, and more than 300 artifacts.
[https://www.nixonlibrary.gov]
[https://www.nixonfoundation.org/]
The Archives
The archives contains materials relating to Richard Nixon's years as President, as well as records pertaining to his pre and post Presidential years. The collection contains 46 million pages of textual records, 6,900 sound recordings, 5,110 films, 5,650 video recordings, and 500,000 photos. Materials reviewed and processed by the archival staff are available to the public and open for research in the Library's Research Room.
[https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/research/reference]
[https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/research/guide-holdings]
[https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/presidential-library-explorer/list/rn]
The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker
- Born in 1913 in a house his father built in Yorba Linda; moved to Whittier in 1922.
- Graduated second in his class at Whittier College and third in his class at Duke Law School.
- Returned to Whittier after law school and married Patricia Ryan at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California.
- Joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the South Pacific during World War II.
- Elected to Congress at 33-years-old in 1946, defeating a five-term Democratic Party incumbent. Re-elected in 1948.
- As a freshman Congressman, led an investigation that exposed Alger Hiss, a former senior State Department official, as a Soviet spy. Hiss was later sent to prison for perjury.
- Elected to the U.S. Senate from California in 1950.
- Ran with Presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower as his Vice President in 1952. The ticket won by a huge majority and was reelected in 1956.
- Sparred with Soviet Premier Khrushchev in the famous "kitchen debate" in Moscow in 1959.
- Ran for President in 1960, losing to JFK by only 113,00 votes in the closest election in U.S. history. Ran unsuccessfully for California Governor in 1962.
- Elected President in 1968 in one of the most extraordinary political comebacks in American history.
- Initiated efforts to achieve peace with honor and end the war in Vietnam, which he inherited from President Johnson.
- Created the Office of Minority Business Enterprise in 1969 to promote the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses.
- Established the "Philadelphia Plan" in 1969 to increase hiring of minority-owned contractors on federal projects, and affirmative action programs setting goals for minority hiring.
- Personally saw to the enforcement of Brown v. Board of Education, by peacefully achieving the desegregation of schools in the deep South.
- Reversed six decades of federal American Indian policy by supporting self-determination and advocating for the return of rights and lands to tribes.
- Welcomed home Apollo XI astronauts after their historic 1969 Moon landing.
- Created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and signed the Clean Air Act of 1970.
- Tripled the hiring of women in the Executive Branch.
- In 1971, officially certified the 26th amendment to the Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
- Signed the National Cancer Act in 1971, cementing our nation's commitment to cancer research, resulting in 50 years of treatment breakthroughs.
- Signed Title IX into law in 1972, opening doors for female athletes by ending gender-based discrimination in all federally funded education programs.
- Opened China to the world through a groundbreaking visit to Beijing in 1972.
- Issued the U.S.-China Shanghai Communique in 1972 with Premier Zhou Enlai, which guided Sino-U.S. relations for decades.
- Signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreement with Soviet Premier Brezhnev in 1972, becoming the first U.S. President to visit Moscow.
- Re-elected to the Presidency in 1972, defeating Senator George McGovern by a historic landslide and winning 49 states.
- Ended the military draft and established the all-volunteer force.
- Ended the Vietnam War in January 1973.
- Brought American POWs home from Vietnam, and hosted them at the White House for the largest dinner ever held at the Executive Mansion.
- Saved Israel with a massive military airlift during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
- Re-oriented U.S. policy in the Middle East, establishing new relationships with Arab states to advance peace in the region.
- Expanded federal funding for the arts and humanities.
- Appointed four justices to the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Warren Burger and future Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
- Resigned the presidency in 1974 citing the loss of political support because of Watergate and returned home to La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California.
- Moved to New York City and later New Jersey, writing 8 of his 10 best-selling books, traveling abroad, and advising presidents on foreign affairs.
- Four Presidents and their First Ladies celebrated the opening in 1990 of the Richard Nixon Library, featuring the restored birthplace and extensive galleries on his life and career.
- Died in 1994 and honored in services at the Nixon Library attended by Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton and their First Ladies; buried at the Nixon Library alongside First Lady Pat Nixon, who had died in 1993.
Plus a few more:
- President and Mrs. Nixon were married for over 50 years. They had two daughters, Tricia and Julie.
- Tricia married Edward Cox in a beautiful White House wedding. They reside in New York City 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.
Richard Nixon Foundation
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. Yorba Linda, California 92886
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][https://www.nixonfoundation.org/]
I believe that the second half of the twentieth century will be known as the "Age of Nixon"
May the days of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.
Libraries can be passive, dry repositories of books and documents. I hope that the Nixon Library and Birthplace will be different - a vital place of discovery and rediscovery, of investigation and contemplation, of study, debate, and analysis.
- Julie Nixon
- Patricia Nixon (Tricia)
- Richard Nixon
- Thelma Catherine Ryan (Pat)
Awarded by The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
I Believe in the American dream because I have seen it come true in my own life.
Bronze 2009
The bronze bust of Richard Nixon on a black granite base was sculpted by Yorba Linda resident and artist Gisele Cariou. The sculpture was a gift from the artist to the Nixon Library.
First Inaugural Address January 20, 1969
We seek an open world ... a world in which no people, great of small, will live in angry isolation.
Film about Nixon's life in politics
Renovation Dedicated February 10, 2017
