August 19, 1976 – Gerald R. Ford Wins the Republican Presidential Nomination

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., born on July 14, 1913, served as the 38th president of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. Previously he had been the 40th Vice President of the U.S. (from December 1973 to August 1974) under President Richard Nixon. When Nixon resigned, Ford took office.

Ford attended the University of Michigan and Yale Law School. He served in World War II, and subsequently embarked on a political career, first representing Michigan in Congress.

In December 1973, two months after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after pleading no contest to a felony charge of tax evasion, Ford was appointed to the vice presidency by Nixon. Ford is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected to either office by the Electoral College. In addition, his 895 day-long presidency is the shortest in U.S. history for any president who did not die in office.

Via Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

In one of his most controversial acts, Ford granted a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal.

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 defeat, Ford retired to Rancho Mirage, California. He wrote a number of books, including an account of his presidency, A Time to Heal (1979).

President Bill Clinton awarded eighty-six-year-old Ford the Presidential Medal of Freedom in August 1999, in honor of his public service in binding the nation together after “the nightmare” of Watergate. Ford died on December 26, 2006, at his home in California, and was buried in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

At the time of Ford’s death, President George W. Bush stated:

President Ford . . . was a true gentleman who reflected the best in America’s character. Americans will always admire Gerald Ford’s unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration and the great rectitude of the man himself. We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th President will always have a special place in our Nation’s memory.”