Pat Nixon

First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974

Photo by: Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:March 16, 1912

Died:June 22, 1993

Age at death:81

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Lung Cancer

Zodiac Sign:Pisces

Born in:Ely, United States

Buried in:United States

Languages:English, French

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Photo credits (2)

Pat Nixon:
Photo by: Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Richard Nixon:
Photo by: Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984) · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Famous For

Movies & TV

The Great ZiegfeldBecky SharpDancing Pirate

Awards

Order of the Sun of PeruOrder of the Pioneers of Liberia

Pat Nixon

First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974

Biography

Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (née Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of Richard Nixon, the 37th U.S. president. From 1953 to 1961, she had been the second lady of the United States when her husband was Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president. Born in Ely, Nevada, she grew up with her two brothers in Artesia, California, graduating from Excelsior Union High School in Norwalk, California, in 1929. She attended Fullerton Junior College and later the University of Southern California. She paid for her schooling by working multiple jobs, including pharmacy manager, typist, radiographer, and retail clerk. In 1940, she married lawyer Richard Nixon and they had two daughters, Tricia and Julie. Dubbed the "Nixon team", Richard and Pat Nixon campaigned together in his successful congressional campaigns of 1946 and 1948. Richard Nixon was elected vice president in 1952 alongside General Dwight D. Eisenhower, whereupon Pat became second lady. Pat Nixon did much to add substance to the role, insisting on visiting schools, orphanages, hospitals, and village markets as she undertook many missions of goodwill across the world. As first lady, Pat Nixon promoted a number of charitable causes, including volunteerism. She oversaw the collection of more than 600 pieces of historic art and furnishings for the White House, an acquisition larger than that of any other administration. She was the most traveled first lady in U.S. history, a record unsurpassed until 25 years later. She accompanied the president as the first first lady to visit China and the Soviet Union, and was the first president's wife to be officially designated a representative of the United States on her solo trips to Africa and South America, which gained her recognition as "Madame Ambassador"; she was also the first first lady to enter a combat zone. Though her husband was re-elected in a landslide victory in 1972, her tenure as first lady ended two years later, when President Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal. Her public appearances became increasingly rare later in life. She and her husband settled in San Clemente, California, and later moved to New Jersey. She suffered two strokes, one in 1976 and another in 1983, and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992. She died in 1993, aged 81.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Pat Nixon”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Formal portrait of Pat Nixon seated wearing a white dress, which was used for campaigning. 2/21/1973, Washington, D.C. White House

Pat Nixon

Official Portrait of Pat Nixon, 1970

Richard and Pat Nixon with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, 1973

Caption: Pat Nixon celebrating her St. Patrick's Day birthday with staff members, including Presidential military aide Col. Jack Brennan, aboard Air Force One, while enroute to Washington, D. C. from South America.

● Frame(s): WHPO-D0956-, President Nixon, Pat Nixon, the Nixon family, Spiro Agnew and Judy Agnew on the speaker's platform at the election victory party in Washington, D.C. Shoreham Hotel. 11/8/1972, Washington, D.C., Regency Ballroom, Shoreham Hotel. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Judy Agnew, Agnew family members, Nixon family members, Sammy Davis, Jr., MacGregor, Bob Dole, crowd ● Frame(s): WHPO-D0956-08A, President Nixon,Spiro Agnew, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward Cox on the speaker's platform at the election victory party in Washington, D.C. Shoreham Hotel. 11/8/1972, Washington, D.C., Regency Ballroom, Shoreham Hotel. President Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Edward Cox, crowd Related Materials: Master Print File ● Frame(s): WHPO-D0956-14A, President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Judy Agnew, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward Cox on the speaker's platform at the election victory party in Washington, D.C. Shoreham Hotel. 11/8/1972, Washington, D.C., Regency Ballroom, Shoreham Hotel. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Judy Agnew, Agnew family members, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Edward Cox, Sammy Davis, Jr., MacGregor, Bob Dole, crowd Related Materials: Master Print File

● Frame(s): WHPO-E2073-, President Nixon's 61st birthday celebration dinner and cake with Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg and other guests. 1/9/1974, Palm Springs, California, Residence of Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Ambassador Walter Annenberg, Mrs. Annenberg, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Presidential valet Manolo Sanchez, assistant chef ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2073-10A, President Nixon's 61st birthday cake for his celebration dinner with Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg and other guests. Celebrated a day early at the Annenberg's residence in Palm Springs, California on January 8, 1974. 1/9/1974, Palm Springs, California, Residence of Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Ambassador Walter Annenberg, Mrs. Annenberg, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Presidential valet Manolo Sanchez, assistant chef ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2073-20, President Nixon's valet Manolo Sanchez and chef's assistant present him with his 61st birthday cake for his celebration dinner with Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg and other guests at the Annenberg's Palm Springs, California home 1/9/1974, Palm Springs, California, Residence of Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Presidential valet Manolo Sanchez, assistant chef Related Materials: Master Print File

● Frame(s): WHPO-E2075-, President Nixon admires his 61st birthday cake while celebrating with family and staff members at the Western White House, La Casa Pacifica, in San Clemente. 1/9/1974, San Clemente, CA, Western White House. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Ron Ziegler, Shirley Browne, Alexander M. Haig, dog King Timahoe ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2075-15, President Nixon admires his 61st birthday cake while celebrating with family and staff members at the Western White House, La Casa Pacifica, in San Clemente. 1/9/1974, San Clemente, CA, Western White House. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Ron Ziegler, Shirley Browne, Alexander M. Haig, dog King Timahoe ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2075-16, President Nixon admires his 61st birthday cake while celebrating with family and staff members at the Western White House, La Casa Pacifica, in San Clemente. 1/9/1974, San Clemente, CA, Western White House. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Charles Bebe Rebozo, Ron Ziegler, Shirley Browne, Alexander M. Haig, dog King Timahoe

● Frame(s): WHPO-E3064-02-34, President Nixon's arrival in Israel. 6/16/1974, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tarmac, Ben Gurion Airport. President Nixon, Yitzhak Rabin ● Frame(s): WHPO-E3064-14, President Nixon revewing Israeli troops upon his arrival in Israel. 6/16/1974, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tarmac, Ben Gurion Airport. President Nixon, Israeli troops Related Materials: Master Print File ● Frame(s): WHPO-E3064-32, President Nixon shakes hands with Yitzhak Rabin upon arrival in Israel. 6/16/1974, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tarmac, Ben Gurion Airport. President Nixon, Yitzhak Rabin, Pat Nixon, Mrs. Rabin, troops Related Materials: Master Print File

● Frame(s): WHPO-E2878-06A-08A, President Nixon attending the graduation and commissioning of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 1974. 6/5/1974, Annapolis, Maryland, Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium, U.S. Naval Academy. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Congressman Lawrence J. Hogan, Congresswoman Marjorie S. Holt, J. William Middendorf II (Secretary of the Navy), Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. (Chief of Naval Operations), Robert E. Cushman, Jr. (Commandant of the Marine Corps) Guillermo Sevilla-Sacassa (Ambassador from Nicaragua to the U.S. and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps), Vice Admiral William P. Mack (Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy) ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2878-08, President Nixon waves a white dress Navy hat to graudates while standing on the stage while attending the graduation and commissioning of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 1974. (seen from behind the stage) 6/5/1974, Annapolis, Maryland, Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium, U.S. Naval Academy. President Nixon, Congressman Lawrence J. Hogan, Congresswoman Marjorie S. Holt, J. William Middendorf II (Secretary of the Navy), Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. (Chief of Naval Operations), Robert E. Cushman, Jr. (Commandant of the Marine Corps) Guillermo Sevilla-Sacassa (Ambassador from Nicaragua to the U.S. and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps), Vice Admiral William P. Mack (Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy) Related Materials: Master Print File ● Frame(s): WHPO-E2878-09A, President Nixon boarding the Presidential helicopter after attending the graduation and commissioning of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 1974. 6/5/1974, Annapolis, Maryland, . L-R: President Nixon, Ronald Ziegler, Vice Admiral William P. Mack