Richard M. Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was born January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon was the 37th President of the United States (1968-1974). He died April 22, 1994, in New York, New York.

The Nixon administration was embattled over the Watergate scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation.

Famous quotes

 * "I am not a crook"
 * "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." - 1962
 * In March 1972, when announcing that he had signed Executive order 11652 to expedite the declassification of U.S. government documents on national security, Nixon stated that "the many abuses of the security system can no longer be tolerated. Fundamental to our way of life is the belief that when information which properly belongs to the public is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage them, and---eventually-incapable of determining their own destinies."

Nixon and Tobacco Issues
As President, Richard Nixon took some strong steps to help control tobacco:


 * April 1, 1970 - President Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and TV.


 * In his January 1971 State of the Union speech, Nixon declared a War on Cancer. On December 23, 1971, President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act into law, declaring, "I hope in the years ahead we will look back on this action today as the most significant action taken during my Administration."


 * In 1972, Nixon signed an Executive Order creating a separate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms within the Treasury Department.

An article about Presidents and cigars in Cigar Aficionado magazine states that "Richard Nixon, although not a regular smoker, enjoyed ritualistic cigar puffing as a statesmanlike gesture with other leaders. The Nixon administration in the early '70s was the last stand of the cigar at the White House. Besides being the last president to smoke cigars, Nixon's was the last presidency during which cigars were offered to men after dinner in the Green Room."

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Nixon administration