Richard Nixon Born in Yorba Linda

Summary

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California, in a house built by his father on the family's citrus farm. He attended Whittier College and Duke University Law School, practiced law, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Nixon entered Congress in 1947 and became nationally prominent through investigations involving alleged communist espionage. He served as vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961, narrowly lost the 1960 presidential election, and won the presidency in 1968. As the thirty-seventh president, Nixon pursued détente with the Soviet Union, opened formal high-level relations with the People's Republic of China, established major environmental institutions, and gradually withdrew U.S. ground forces from Vietnam. His presidency collapsed amid the Watergate scandal. Facing likely impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, becoming the only U.S. president to resign from office.