Claim: Richard Nixon's wife's name was Thelma.

Richard Milhous Nixon -LRB- January 9 , 1913 -- April 22 , 1994 -RRB- was an American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 , when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office . He had previously served as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower , and prior to that as a U.S. Representative and also Senator from California .   Nixon was born in Yorba Linda , California . After completing his undergraduate studies at Whittier College , he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law . He and his wife Pat moved to Washington in 1942 to work for the federal government . He subsequently served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II . Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950 . His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist , and elevated him to national prominence . He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election . Nixon served for eight years as vice president -- at 40 , the second-youngest vice president in history . He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960 , narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy , and lost a race for Governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962 . In 1968 , he ran for the presidency again and was elected by defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey .   Nixon ended American involvement in the war in Vietnam in 1973 and brought the American POWs home , and ended the military draft . Nixon 's visit to the People 's Republic of China in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations , and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union the same year . His administration generally transferred power from Washington D.C. to the states . He imposed wage and price controls for a period of ninety days , enforced desegregation of Southern schools and established the Environmental Protection Agency . Nixon also presided over the Apollo 11 moon landing , which signaled the end of the moon race . He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 , when he defeated George McGovern .   The year 1973 saw an Arab oil embargo , gasoline rationing , and a continuing series of revelations about the Watergate scandal . The scandal escalated , costing Nixon much of his political support , and on August 9 , 1974 , he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office . After his resignation , he was issued a pardon by his successor , Gerald Ford . In retirement , Nixon 's work writing several books and undertaking of many foreign trips helped to rehabilitate his image . He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18 , 1994 , and died four days later at the age of 81 .