- NAME – Richard Milhous Nixon (named after Richard the Lionheart)
Library of Congress - NICKNAME(S) – Tricky Dick
- BIRTH / DEATH – Jan. 9, 1913 Yorba Linda, Ca. / New York City (stroke – age 81)
- FATHER – oil field worker, street car motorman, gas station owner
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – Whittier College (history degree) / Duke Law School
- WIFE – Thelma Catherine Ryan (Pat)
- KIDS – 2 kids
- PETS – cocker spaniel (Checkers); poodle (Vicky); terrier (Pasha); Irish terrier (King Timahoe)
- RELIGION – Quaker
- ANCESTRY – English – Scotch – Irish
- AGE – 56
FIRSTS:
– first to host a rock concert at the White House (the Hollies and the Guess Who for his daughters)
– first to be elected twice to the Vice Presidency and twice to the Presidency
– first born in California
– first to participate in a Presidential debate (with Kennedy)
– first to visit Red China, Yugoslavia, Israel, Poland, Iceland
– first to resign
MA AND PA: His father was one of the least impressive presidential fathers. Ill-educated, he spent his early adulthood doing a series of menial jobs. When his first child, Richard, was born, he was working as a field hand. After his marriage, his in-laws tried to set him up in farming, but he failed. He eventually ran a gas station and market. His outgoing personality attracted his wife, but as time went on he became bad tempered, mean, and bitter. He died in 1956. Richard’s mother was a pretty, quiet Quaker. She was devout in her religion and it helped her put up with her difficult husband. Her parents were opposed to the marriage and were probably right. To make things more depressing, she lost two of Richard’s brothers to tuberculosis. She doted on Richard and taught him to read before he entered school. She supported his political career, but died at age 82 before he became President. Nixon considered his mother to be a saint. Parents
BACKGROUND:
– paid for college by working nights at a grocery store
– after Duke, became a lawyer
– enlisted in the Navy for WWII
– elected to House of Representatives in 1946
– elected to the Senate in 1950
– elected Vice President in 1952
– lost for President in 1960
– lost for Governor of California
TRIVIA:
– when he was growing up, two of his brothers died of illnesses
– played the violin and piano in the high school orchestra
– when he was President, the salary was raised to $200,000 plus $50,000 expenses
– his favorite President was Wilson; he used Wilson’s desk as President
– his favorite food was cottage cheese and ketchup
– when he was President of his class in college, it was traditional to steal an outhouse to put on the homecoming bonfire, Nixon found a four-seater
– Pat was an extra in movies (including “Ben Hur”)
– he was called “Iron Pants” (or “Iron Butt”) in college because he studied so much
– in the Navy in WWII, he played a lot of poker and made a lot of money
– Nixon’s brother Donald was the black sheep of the family. Nixon called him “my poor damn, dumb brother”. Donald opened up Nixonburgers with a loan from Howard Hughes, but it failed. Nixon had the Secret Service spy on him and tap his phones. Whitcomb and Whitcomb 28
– he learned how to play the piano, violin, clarinet, saxophone, and accordion as a child. He played his own piano composition when he appeared on the Jack Paar Show. mentalfloss.com
– when he was growing up, he would wake up at 4 A.M., drive the truck to Los Angeles to pick up a load of vegetables, wash them, put them on display at the family grocery store, go to school, return to work several hours in the store, study until midnight
– he was elected class president in college, not because he was popular, but because he promised to get dancing approved on campus
ANECDOTES:
THE CHECKER’S SPEECH – During the 1952 Presidential Campaign, Nixon was accused of accepting contributions from rich Republicans that supplemented his salary. Although Nixon claimed that the fund was to defray expenses and not for personal use, Eisenhower seriously considered dropping Nixon from the ticket. Nixon knew he had to change the momentum so he went on national TV to give a speech. He bought a half hour on national TV for $75,000. In the speech, with Pat sitting by his side, he mentioned that all they could afford was a “respectable Republican cloth coat”. He concluded the speech by mentioning that his kids had gotten a gift – a pet cocker spaniel. “And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we are going to keep it.” The speech was a smash hit and Nixon stayed on the ticket. Eisenhower’s response was: “You’re my boy”. Boller p. 326
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB? – Nixon was not one for small talk. When a police officer was injured in an accident in the Presidential motorcade, Nixon stood over him as they waited for the ambulance. “How do you like your job?” Shenkman 267
RAISING THE PRICE OF CHEESEBURGERS – Because of problems with inflation in the 1970’s, the government put price controls on products. When Ray Kroc of McDonalds raised the price of cheeseburgers from $.59 to $.65, the Price Commission ordered him to rescind the price increase. After Kroc donated $200,000 to Nixon’s reelection campaign, the commission reversed its decision. Weird 269