President: Richard M. Nixon

Wife: Thelma "Patricia" Catherine Ryan (1912-1993), on June 21, 1940

Kids: Patricia Nixon (1946- ); Julie Nixon (1948- )

Pets: Checkers, a cocker spaniel; Vicky, a poodle; Pasha, a terrier; King Timahoe, an Irish setter; fish

Bio: Richard Milhous Nixon, (1913-1994) was the 37th President of the United States, and vice president under Dwight Eisenhower. Born January 9, 1913 on his father's lemon farm in Yorba Linda, California, he was one of five sons in the family, though two died in childhood. He was raised as a Quaker throughout his childhood and attended Whittier College, a Quaker institution. He was an excellent student and debater. Graduating second in his class in 1934, he won a scholarship to Duke University Law School.

He went on to marry Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan, a high school teacher, in 1940, and had two daughters, Patricia and Julie. In August 1942 Nixon entered the Navy as a junior lieutenant and was sent to a naval air base in Iowa. In September 1945, he waged a victorious campaign for a Republican seat in Congress. As a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee, Nixon became a leading anti-Communist crusader.

General Dwight Eisenhower chose him as his running mate in the presidential election of 1952. In 1960 Nixon lost the presidential election to Kennedy. After another loss in the race for California governor, he returned to civilian life as a lawyer.

However, in 1968, he came storming back and won the election with Agnew as his running mate. He was a courageous president who was credited with opening up relations with China, being the first president to visit a Communist country, and bringing the Vietnam war to a close.

He was easily re-elected in 1972, and from there everything went downhill for him. He was the first president forced to resign from office after the Watergate scandal implicated him.

On April 22, 1994, Nixon died of a stroke, and a state funeral was held five days later in Yorba Linda, California.