Photos: On this day – August 8, 1974 – Richard Nixon resigns as President

Posted Aug 08, 2012

On this day – August 8, 1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.

Nixon’s second term saw an Arab oil embargo, the resignation of his vice president, Spiro Agnew, and a continuing series of revelations about the Watergate scandal. The scandal escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support, and on August 9, 1974, he left office in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office. After his resignation, he was controversially issued a pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford. (AP, Wikipedia)

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Richard Nixon says goodbye with a victorious salute to his staff members outside the White House as he boards a helicopter after resigning the presidency on Aug. 9, 1974. Nixon was the first president in American history to resign the nation's highest office. His resignation came after approval of an impeachment article against him by the House Judiciary Committee for withholding evidence from Congress. He stepped down as the 37th president with a 2,026-day term, urging Americans to rally behind Gerald R. Ford. President Ford fully pardoned Nixon one month later. (AP Photo)
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Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Tex., offers her view on impeachment of President Richard Nixon during a night session of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington Thursday, July 25, 1974. Rep. Jordan is one of five Democratic first-termers on the panel. (AP Photo)
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Special Watergate Prosecutor Leon Jaworski arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington on Friday, July 26, 1974, accompanied by two of his assistants seeking compliance to the Supreme Court that President Richard Nixon produce White House tapes for use in the Watergate cover-up trial. From left are; Philip Lacovara; Jaworski; and Richard Ben-Veniste. (AP Photo)
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The U.S. presidential yacht Sequoia, carrying President Richard Nixon and his family, returns to port after a late-afternoon cruise on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., Monday, Aug. 5, 1974. A few hours earlier Nixon made his latest Watergate disclosure. (AP Photo)
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President Richard Nixon embraces his daughter, Mrs. Julie Eisenhower, Aug. 8, 1974, after informing his family of his decision to resign, in a photo released by the White House. The photo was made in the family's living quarters. (AP Photo/White House)
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President Richard Nixon poses with his family in the White House living quarters in this photo released by the White House from Wednesday, August 8, 1974. From left are: Edward and Tricia Cox; President and Mrs.Pat Nixon; and Julie and David Eisenhower. (AP Photo/White House)
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Former President Richard M. Nixon is shown in White House with his dog, Vicky, the night before he resigned as the nation?s Chief Executive in August 1974 in Washington. This photo was taken by former White House photographer Ollie Atkins and was just released. It was never made available before. The photo will appear in the latest issue of People magazine. (AP Photo)
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Rep. John B. Anderson, R-III., discusses President Richard Nixon's announcement that he will resign from the nation's highest office as he talks with newsmen Thursday, August 8, 1974 in Washington. (AP Photo)
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President Richard Nixon makes his farewell address to the White House staff, Aug. 9, 1974, as his daughter Julie Nixon Eisenhower and her husband David stand by. (AP Photo)
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Outgoing United States President Richard Nixon makes a thumbs up gesture during his farewell speech to cabinet members and White House staff, in the East Room of the White House, Washington, Aug. 9, 1974. Julie and David Eisenhower, his dauighter and son-in-law, are in the background. (AP Photo)
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President Richard M. Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon are shown standing together in the East Room of the White House Friday, August 9, 1974, where he made a farewell address to the members of the White House staff. The President boarded a helicopter immediately following his address for a short flight to nearby Andrews Air Force Base and a flight to California. (AP Photo/Charlie Harrity)
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President Nixon reads a passage from a book by Theodore Roosevelt as he addresses an East Room White House audience Friday, Aug. 9, 1974. Julie Nixon Eisenhower and her husband David listen, left, along with Mrs. Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox and her husband stand at the right. (AP Photo/Charles W. Harrity)
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Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty, in one of his last duties as Vice President, walks with Richard Nixon and his wife Pat from the White House, Friday following a speech given by Nixon to his White House staff, Aug. 9, 1974. Shortly afterward, Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States. (AP Photo)
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Julie and David Eisenhower, left, and Vice President Gerald Ford with wife Betty watch as Richard M. Nixon departs the White House in Washington on Thursday, August 9, 1974. Shortly afterward, Ford was sworn in as the nation's 38th President. (AP Photo)
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President Richard Nixon says goodbye outside the White House Friday, August 9, 1974, as he prepares to board a helicopter for a flight to nearby Andrews Air Force Base. Nixon addressed members of his staff in the East Room prior to his departure. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty)
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On the day of his resignation, Aug. 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon waves goodbye from the steps of his helicopter as he leaves the White House following a farewell address to his staff. The Watergate scandal forced Nixon to become the first U.S. president to resign from office. (AP Photo/Chick Harrity)
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Richard M. Nixon waves a final farewell from the helicopter steps as he leaves the White House for the last time after resigning as president , Aug. 9, 1974. (AP Photo)
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President Richard Nixon, whose resignation will become effective at 12 p.m. EST Friday, boards the "Spirit of 76" with his wife, Pat, as they leave Andrews Air Force Base, Md. on Aug. 6, 1974 in Washington. On the stairs is Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of the president with her husband, Edward Cox. The plane's destination is San Clemente, California. (AP Photo)
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Member of the honor guard hold down the red carpet as the helicopter carrying Richard M. Nixon from the White House prepares to lift off from the grounds on Friday, Aug. 9, 1974. After a farewell speech to members of the White House staff Nixon departed for California. (AP Photo)
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A portrait of former President Richard M. Nixon is replaced by that of his successor Gerald R. Ford at the U. S. embassy in Bonn, Germany, August 9, 1974. (AP Photo/Schlagmann)
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Gerald R. Ford takes the oath of office as the 38th president of the United States as his wife, Betty, right, stands at his side in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Aug. 9. 1974. Administering the oath is Chief Justice of the United States Warren Burger. Ford is sworn in following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon as chief executive. (AP Photo)
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U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, right, and his wife, Betty, smile at the crowd after he was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, Aug. 9. 1974. Ford took the oath of office following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon as chief executive. (AP Photo)
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The wax effigy head of Richard Nixon is removed from the Grand Hall at the Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London Aug. 11, 1974. The figure of Nixon was removed from the collection of world leaders following his resignation Aug. 9, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Rider-Rider)
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President Gerald Ford signs a document granting former President Richard M. Nixon "a full, free and absolute pardon" for all "offenses against the United States" during the period of his presidency. Ford signed the document Sunday morning, Sept. 8, 1974 in his White House office. (AP Photo)