5 November: Richard Nixon

On this date in 1968, Richard Nixon was elected 37th president of the US. Here are 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was born on January 9, 1913 in a farmhouse built by his father, Francis. He was named after the British king, Richard the Lionheart. Three of his four brothers were also named after English kings – Harold, Arthur and Edward. The fourth brother was named Donald. Richard’s middle name, Milhous, was his mother’s maiden name.
2. Hannah Milhous was a Quaker, and when Francis married her he converted and joined the Quaker congregation. Hence Richard Nixon was brought up as a Quaker. Although this meant Richard could have been exempt from military service, he waived it and joined the Navy.
3. He was a good student and almost went to Harvard to study law. At the time, however, his brother Harold was ill with TB and his mother was looking after him full time, so Richard had to decline his place in order to help out with the family business. He studied in his home town and later at Duke University School of Law.
4. When he was 24, he applied to join the FBI. He got to the interview stage but never heard any more. He didn’t find out the reason until he was Vice-President and asked Hoover about it. Turned out the reason was budget cuts.
5. He met his wife, Patricia, through amateur dramatics. They were both cast in a play called The Dark Tower. For Richard, it was love at first sight but Patricia took some convincing. She turned him down for several dates and it took him two years to persuade her to marry him. They married in 1940.
6. His political career: Presidential candidate Dwight D Eisenhower, selected Nixon as his running mate in 1952. They won by a huge majority and were re-elected in 1956. In 1960, Nixon ran for President but lost to JFK by just 113,000 votes in the closest election in US history. In 1968, Nixon earned the nomination for President and beat Hubert Humphrey to win the election. Nixon was re-elected to office in 1972, defeating his opponent Senator George McGovern by a wide margin. In 1974, following the Watergate scandal, he became the first US President to resign from office.
7. In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower considered dropping Nixon as his vice-presidential running mate after allegations that Nixon was benefiting from a trust fund filled by his supporters. In his speech to address the issue, Nixon just happened to mention that one of the donations he received was actually a much loved Dog, called Chequers. Since the President had come out as a dog lover, the American public decided he couldn’t be all bad, and it saved his career.
8. He was the first President to visit China and in 1972, Nixon issued the U.S.-China Shanghai Communique, which still governs Sino-U.S. relations today. He was also the first President to make an official visit to the Soviet Union where he and General Secretary Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1). He also ended the war in Vietnam in 1973.
9. After his resignation, Nixon became a writer and wrote his memoirs, followed by nine more books on domestic and international affairs. He also advised subsequent Presidents on foreign affairs.
10. He died following a stroke in 1994, at the age of 81.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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