Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California, in a house built by his father. His parents were Hannah (Milhous) Nixon and Francis A. Nixon. His mother was a Quaker, and his father converted from Methodism to the Quaker faith. Through his mother, Nixon was a descendant of the early English settler Thomas Cornell, who was also an ancestor of Ezra Cornell, the founder of Cornell University, as well as of Jimmy Carter and Bill Gates. Merkley, Paul Charles (2004). American Presidents, Religion, and Israel: the Heirs of Cyrus. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98340-6.