(1913- ), thirty-seventh president of the United States (1969-74). A lifelong Republican, Nixon became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1947, where he gained national attention with his involvement in the
Hiss case. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1951. Still remembered for his emotional "Checkers" speech during the presidential
election of 1952, Nixon served as vice president in the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. He narrowly lost the presidency to John F. Kennedy in the
election of 1960 and was soundly defeated by Pat Brown in his bid for the governorship of California in 1962, resulting in a bitter announcement that he would never again seek public office. After practicing law in New York for several years, however, Nixon actively campaigned for and narrowly won the presidency in the
election of 1968 in a race with Hubert H. Humphrey; he won reelection by a landslide over George McGovern in the
election of 1972. As president, Nixon opened relations with the People's Republic of China and ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam. A break-in at the Democratic party headquarters in the
Watergate complex, Washington, D.C., during the 1972 campaign, led to an investigation of Nixon's campaign committee's involvement. The administration's cover-up and obstruction of justice in the case led to a congressional committee's recommendation that Nixon be impeached. To avoid impeachment proceedings he resigned, the only president to do so. After his resignation, President Gerald Ford pardoned him for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office, leading to a national outcry. Nixon subsequently wrote memoirs and other books and served as a consultant to Republican presidents.
