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(Thursday, January 9, 1913) — Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, was born today in what was then the township precinct of Yorba Linda, California, in a house built by his father, located on his family’s lemon ranch.

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A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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His five years in the White House saw a reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the first manned Moon landings, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Nixon’s second term ended early when he became the only president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.