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.

Richard M. Nixon's Life

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. His family moved to Whittier, California where he and his five brothers attended public school and worked at his father's store. He enrolled in Whittier College when he was 17. In 1934, Nixon received a scholarship to Duke University Law School in North Carolina. After he graduated, he tried to get a job with a law firm in New York but he got turned down every time and returned to Whittier where he met and married Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan. Nixon joined the Navy in 1942. Eleven years later Vice President of the United States under President of the United States Dwight David Eisenhower. Eisenhower was inaugurated in January, 1953. Nixon worked as an active leader during his eight years as Vice President when Dwight was sick. Nixon ran for President against John F. Kennedy and lost. Two years later, he ran for Governor of California and lost to that as well. Six years in 1968 he ran for President and won. On August 9, 1974 Nixon resigned while in office because of the Watergate scandal. Richard's administration is known as one of the worst ones in history. He retired to San Clemente, California. His wife died on June 22, 1993. "Tricky Dick" died exactly ten months later on April 22, 1994. Note: Nixon was President from 1969 through 1974 and the Vice Presidents were Spiro Theodore Agnew and Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

Lyndon Johnson's Life

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas. He attended public schools and after realizing how hard it was to find a job without a college degree, enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College. He graduated in 1930. He taught for one year in the Texas schools and left to enter politics. Lyndon Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor aka Lady Bird Johnson. Together they had two children named Lynda and Luci. Johnson was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1937. He joined the Navy when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and he fought in the Pacific theater. He returned from the war in July, 1942 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered all members of Congress, in military service, to return their duties. In 1948 he was elected to the United States Senate and became the Democratic majority leader in 1954. He was elected Vice President of the United States when John Fitzgerald Kennedy won the presidential race on November 9, 1963 against Nixon. Lyndon took the oath of office as President of the United States ninty-nine minutes after John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963. Johnson ran for President in 1964 and fortunately he won. He passed Kennedy's bills on civil rights, poverty and conservation. During his administration he was known for creating the "Great Society" that promoted equal rights for all and provided health insurance to the elderly. Lyndon decided not to run for President of the United States in 1968 and retired to move back to San Antonio, Texas. He suffered two heart attacks in his retirement and his last one proved fatal. He died of the fatal heart attack in San Antonio on January 22, 1973. Note: Johnson was President from 1963 through 1969 and the Vice President was Hubert Horatio Humphrey.

John F. Kennedy's Life

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, the second of nine children. He was born to parents Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. He attended private schools and enrolled in Princeton University. During the summer of his freshman year he traveled to London, England where he fell ill with jaundice. It took him two years for him to fully recover. He continued his studied at Harvard University and graduated with honors in 1940. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, John signed up with the Navy and became a Naval Commander. He had to leave the Navy in 1944 after he received malaria. Kennedy was elected to the Congress in 1946 in a Boston district and then he re-elected two times. In 1953, he was elected Senator of Massachusetts after defeating Henry Cabot Lodge. Also in 1953 John "Jack" Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier on September 12 and together they had four children named Arabella Kennedy (August 12, 1956-August 12, 1956), Caroline Kennedy (November 27, 1957), John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (November 25, 1960-July 16, 1999), and Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (August 7, 1963-August 9, 1963.) He was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20, 1961 after defeating Richard Milhous Nixon on November 9, 1960. He did not get a chance to serve a full term because on November 22, 1963 he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald did not go to court or to jail because of his own death two days later on November 24, 1963. He was shot by Jack Ruby. Note: Kennedy was President from 1961 to 1963 and the Vice President was Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Dwight Eisenhower's Life

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas.  His family moved to Abilene, Kansas where his father bought a house on a 10-acre farm. He worked on the farm with his four brothers. His nickname was "Ike" which was what everybody called him. In high school he worked nights at the creamery where he studied his lessons. He was accepted to West Point and graduated in 1915. The next year in 1916, Dwight Eisenhower married Marie Geneva "Mamie" Doud. General Douglas MacArthur asked Dwight to assist him in planning the defense of the Philippines. In 1942 Eisenhower became the commanding General of the American Forces in the European theater and the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in North Africa, commanding the British and American troops. One year later he was promoted to full (four star) general. On June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, he was promoted to General of the Army. On May 7, 1945 the German Army surrendered. For the next three years Dwight was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army until he was named President of Columbia University. He was nominated by the Republicans to run for President in 1952 and he won. While he was President, in 1955 he suffered a severe heart attack and another stroke. He ran for President in 1956 and won. He served two terms as President of the United States. During his administration he was engaged in foreign policy, which ended the Korean War, and negotiating with China, Cuba, and Russia. He retired in  1961 and he died in Washington, D.C. at Walter Reed Hospital on March 28, 1969. Note: Eisenhower was President form 1953 through 1961 and the Vice President was Richard Milhous Nixon.

Harry S Truman's Life

Harry Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He had no middle name, so he just added the S to his name with no period. He was the first President to play the piano. He woke up at 5:00AM and practiced for at least two hours a day before school time. He was the only twentieth-century to not receive a college degree, meaning he did not attend college. Harry Truman married Elizabeth Virginia "Bess" Wallace in 1919 and they had one child named Margaret. He was a senator from Missouri for ten years before he was inaugurated Vice President of the States on January 20, 1945. He was Vice President until April 12, 1945 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office that day. Harry Truman was in the 1948 presidential race and won. He declined to serve another term. While he was in office in 1945, on September 2, he used the atomic bomb when the United States attacked Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki which caused Japan to surrender and soon ended World War II. He returned to Independence, Missouri where he devoted his time to the Truman Library. He retired for 19 years before he died in Independence on December 26, 1972 at age eighty-eight. Note: Truman was President from 1945 through 1953 and the Vice President was Alben William Barkley.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Life

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. He was his parents' only child. Him and Theodore Roosevelt were fifth cousins. His parents took about seven weeks to agree on Franklin's name. He was tutored by a governess and he took frequent trips to Europe. He graduated in 1904 from Harvard University and attended Columbia University Law School in New York. He married a distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1905 and together they had six children. He passed the bar exam and joined a law firm on Wall Street. He ran for the New York Senate and won when he was twenty-eight years old. President Wilson appointed Franklin assistant Secretary of the Navy three years later in 1913. FDR traveled to Canada when he developed polio in 1921 at age thirty-nine. After he contracted polio, it left him paralyzed waist and lower for the rest of his life. In 1929 he ran for Governor of New York and he won. He served one term as Governor. Roosevelt was in the 1932 presidential race along with former President Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt won in a landslide victory. In 1936 he ran for a second term as President and won. The economy had reached the prosperity levels of the 1920s by then. In 1940 he ran for a third term and won. He is the only President to served up to three terms. He became President in 1941. On December 7 of 1941 the United States Naval fleet was attacked by the Japanese Air Force. The United States declared war with Japan. On December 8, Roosevelt declared war with Italy and on December 11 war with Germany. Roosevelt was President during the Great Depression. The United States was embroiled in World War II in part of Roosevelt's president. Franklin was elected to a fourth term in 1944 and began his fourth term on January 20, 1945. Roosevelt died of a stroke in Georgia at age sixty-three three months later on April 12, 1945. Note: FDR was President from 1933 to 1945 and the Vice Presidents were John Nance Garner, Henry Agard Wallace and Harry Truman.