Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford was the thirty-eighth president of the United States. When he took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances...this is an hour of our history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."

It was, indeed, an unprecedented time. In late 1973, following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, Ford was appointed vice president by Richard Nixon under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, a first for the United States. When Nixon became the first president to resign from office, Ford became the first president of the United States who was never elected to the office of vice president or president.

Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1913 and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was a star athlete on the University of Michigan football team. While he received offers to play professional football from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, he instead chose to earn his law degree at Yale. After passing the bar exam in Michigan, Ford and a University of Michigan fraternity brother opened a law practice in Grand Rapids.

Ford began his 25-year political career in Congress in the late 1940s. He was re-elected 12 times, garnering more than 60 percent of the vote in the general elections each time. Known for integrity and openness, he served as House Minority Leader from 1965 to 1973 and was a member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

As president, Ford inherited an administration plagued by a divisive war in Southeast Asia, rising inflation, and fears of energy shortages. He also struggled to bring dignity back to the White House in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Believing that impeachment proceedings would prevent the United States from moving on to deal with other challenges the country was facing, Ford pardoned Richard Nixon prior to the filing of any formal criminal charges. Public reaction was mostly negative - in fact some suspected Ford made a "deal" with the former president to pardon him if he would resign. The decision might have cost him the election in 1976, but President Ford always maintained that it was the right thing to do for the good of the country.

After leaving office, President Ford continued to actively participate in the political process and to speak out on important political issues. In August 1999, President Ford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This honor, the nation's highest civilian award, was presented by President Bill Clinton in recognition of President Ford's role in guiding the nation through the turbulent times of Watergate, the resignation of President Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War. In October 1999, Ford was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for "dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions." He also is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award.

Ford is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; children, Michael, John, Steven and Susan and their spouses; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.