NIXON DIES FROM COMPLICATIONS FROM STROKE
Park Ridge, New Jersey (JFK+50) On April 22, 1994, Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of the United States, died as a result of complications from a massive stroke he suffered four days earlier. The former POTUS was stricken at his home here in Park Ridge.
President Nixon, who was 81 years old, died at 9:08 p.m. with daughters Tricia and Julie by his side. His wife, Patricia Ryan Nixon, preceded him in death. Nixon served two terms as Vice-President under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was narrowly defeated by Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) in the presidential election of 1960.
Two years later, Mr. Nixon lost a bid for governor of California. An obviously bitter candidate told reporters in his press conference..."You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."
Despite those words, Richard Nixon made a comeback in 1968 and defeated Vice-President Hubert Humphrey to become the 37th President. Nixon's first term, 1969-1973, was marked by notable foreign policy achievements including a ground-breaking visit to Communist China.
Re-elected by a landslide in 1972, President Nixon became mired in the "Watergate" scandal which culminated in his resignation in 1974. In announcing the death of the former chief executive, President Bill Clinton described Mr. Nixon as a "statesman who sought to build a lasting structure of peace."
Mr. Nixon's living will stipulated that no funeral services were to be held for him in Washington, D.C. The 37th POTUS is buried at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California.
JFK+50 COMMENT
Richard M. Nixon had a great impact on me as he did on most of my generation. At the time of his resignation of the presidency, he had either been Vice-President or POTUS for 13.5 years of my 26 years of life. I cast my first vote for POTUS in 1972 for Richard Nixon. I believed his foreign policy expertise and success warranted that vote. Most voters in November 1972 agreed, but that was before the Watergate scandal broke wide open.
Richard M. Nixon
37th US President
