Gerald Ford's Life

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was his parents' first and only child. He moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother when his parents divorced. In 1916, his mother married Gerald Rudolph Ford. The little Ford's name was not legally changed until 1935. He was a popular student and athlete- he played football in high school and college at the University of Michigan. Gerald then went on to law school and he was admitted to the bar. He joined the Navy in 1942 to fight in World War II. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander and remained on active duty until 1946. After World War II, he ran for a seat in Congress and won. He spent twenty-five years in the House of Representatives. Gerald Ford married Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Bloomer in 1948 and together they had four children. In 1973, after the resignation of Vice President of the United States Spiro Theodore Agnew, Richard Nixon asked Ford to be Vice President. Although eight months later on August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned from office and Ford was inaugurated President of the United States that same day. That was the reason Ford is the only President of the United States and Vice President of the United States who was not elected to any of those offices. He did not serve a full term because of that mishap and because in the 1976 presidential election, he lost to Jimmy Carter. Gerald retired to Rancho Mirage, California and he died on December 26, 2006. He is now known as the oldest President to live because he died at 93 years and 165 days. Note: Ford was President from 1974 to 1977 and the Vice President was Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller.