Richard Millhouse Nixon

Born in California in 1913, Richard Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate. As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. Nixon is known for ending the Vietnam War, reducing tensions with China, and for resigning from office in August 1974.