Complex sentence: One of the more interesting events involving gavels was in 1954, when, acting as presiding officer of the United States Senate, Vice President Richard Nixon broke the Senate's gavel during a debate on nuclear energy.
Split into simpler sentences: One of the more interesting events involving gavels was in 1954. As presiding officer of the Senate, Vice President Richard Nixon had the authority to use the gavel; he broke it during a debate on nuclear energy.