Richard Nixon is the only United States president ever to have resigned the office mid-term.
Having secured a landslide re-election in November 1972, his resignation on August 9, 1974 came just eighteen months into his second term.
One consequence of Nixon’s resignation was that Gerald Ford became the first president never to have been elected by the people or the Electoral College. Ford was also the first vice-president to have been nominated by a sitting president and confirmed by the Senate.
The Washington Post on August 7, 1974
The Washington Post on August 9, 1974
Nixon’s Resignation – Archived Posts
- July 31, 1974: Watergate: Yes, It Could Happen Here
- August 8, 1974: Nixon’s Resignation Speech
- August 8, 1974: Nixon Recalls His Last Full Day In The White House
- August 9, 1974: Memorandum To Jaworski On Prosecuting Nixon
- August 9, 1974: Nixon’s Final Remarks To The White House Staff
- August 9, 1974: Nixon’s Resignation Letter
- December 22, 1996: The Speech That Might Have Been: Nixon Refuses To Resign