Gerald Ford

09/08/197420/01/1977View on timeline
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford - The United States' 37th Vice President & 38th President | Mini Bio | Biography

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. Before his accession to the presidency, Ford served as the 40th vice president of the United States from December 1973 to August 1974. Ford is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected to either office by the Electoral College.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ford attended the University of Michigan and Yale Law School. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving from 1942 to 1946; he left as a lieutenant commander. Ford began his political career in 1949 as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district. He served in this capacity for 25 years, the final nine of them as the House Minority Leader. In December 1973, two months after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment by President Richard Nixon. After the subsequent resignation of President Nixon in August 1974, Ford immediately assumed the presidency. His 895 day-long presidency is the shortest in U.S. history for any president who did not die in office.

As president, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, which marked a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the collapse of South Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. In one of his most controversial acts, he granted a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford's presidency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In the Republican presidential primary campaign of 1976, Ford defeated former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination. He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.

Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. His moderate views on various social issues increasingly put him at odds with conservative members of the party in the 1990s and early 2000s. In retirement, Ford set aside the enmity he had felt towards Carter following the 1976 election, and the two former presidents developed a close friendship. After experiencing a series of health problems, he died at home on December 26, 2006.


0 comments

Comment
No comments avaliable.

Author

Info

Published in 28/08/2020

Updated in 19/02/2021

All events in the topic USA - Presidents:


30/04/178904/03/1797George WashingtonGeorge Washington
04/03/179704/03/1801John AdamsJohn Adams
04/03/180104/03/1809Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
04/03/180904/03/1817James MadisonJames Madison
04/03/181704/03/1825James MonroeJames Monroe
04/03/182504/03/1829John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams
04/03/182904/03/1837Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson
04/03/183704/03/1841Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren
04/03/184104/04/1841William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison
04/04/184104/03/1845John TylerJohn Tyler
04/03/184504/03/1849James K. PolkJames K. Polk
04/03/184909/07/1850Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor
09/07/185004/03/1853Millard FillmoreMillard Fillmore
04/03/185304/03/1857Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce
04/03/185704/03/1861James BuchananJames Buchanan
04/03/186115/04/1865Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
15/04/186504/03/1869Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson
04/03/186904/03/1877Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
04/03/187704/03/1881Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes
04/03/188119/09/1881James A. GarfieldJames A. Garfield
19/09/188104/03/1885Chester A. ArthurChester A. Arthur
04/03/188504/03/1889Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
04/03/188904/03/1893Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison
04/03/189304/03/1897Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
04/03/189714/09/1901William McKinleyWilliam McKinley
14/09/190104/03/1909Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
04/03/190904/03/1913William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
04/03/191304/03/1921Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
04/03/192102/08/1923Warren G. HardingWarren G. Harding
04/03/192304/03/1929Calvin CoolidgeCalvin Coolidge
04/03/192904/03/1933Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover
04/03/193312/04/1945Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
12/04/194520/01/1953Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman
20/01/195320/01/1961Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
20/01/196122/11/1963John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
22/11/196320/01/1969Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
20/01/196909/08/1974Richard NixonRichard Nixon
09/08/197420/01/1977Gerald FordGerald Ford
20/01/197720/01/1981Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter
20/01/198120/01/1989Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
20/01/198920/01/1993George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
20/01/199320/01/2001Bill ClintonBill Clinton
20/01/200120/01/2009George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
20/01/200920/01/2017Barack ObamaBarack Obama
20/01/201720/01/2021Donald TrumpDonald Trump