Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state of the United States bordered by South Dakota to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the east, Kansas to the south, and Colorado to the southwest, with its panhandle bordering Wyoming to the west; its capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha. It was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1867, as the 37th state, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 1,961,504.Open the full entry, to Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, who separated two weeks after his birth and divorced later that year. The house of his grandparents at 3202 Woolworth Avenue, where he was born, was razed after a 1971 fire; the site is now the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens.⁠[1][2]

On February 1, 1916, his mother, Dorothy, married Gerald R. Ford, a paint salesman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who later served as county Republican chairman. The family called the boy Gerald R. Ford Jr., but his name was not legally changed until December 3, 1935. He grew up with his half-brothers Tom, Dick and Jim.⁠[1][3][4]

Ford became an Eagle Scout in November 1927 and attended South High School in Grand Rapids, where he played on the football team.⁠[3][4]

Ford attended the University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a university founded in Detroit in 1817 that moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1837; it is governed by a statewide-elected Board of Regents and also has campuses in Dearborn and Flint.Open the full entry from 1931 to 1935, was named best freshman in the 1932 spring football practice, later played in the East-West College All-Star Game, and earned a B.A. in economics in June 1935.⁠[3][4]

After graduating, Ford went to New Haven, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a U.S. state in the New England region. Its capital is Hartford and its largest city is Bridgeport (2010 census). It entered the Union on January 9, 1788, as the 5th state, and had a population of 3,605,944 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, where he coached boxing and served as an assistant varsity football coach at YaleYale UniversityYale University is a research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Its predecessor, the Collegiate School, received a charter in 1701. Trustees chose New Haven in 1716; the institution became Yale College in 1718 and Yale University in 1887. Yale provides undergraduate, graduate and professional education and has 14 undergraduate residential colleges. As of October 2026, its president was Maurie McInnis, who took office in July 2024. In 2026, Yale expanded aid for incoming undergraduates and celebrated its 325th anniversary.Open the full entry; in the summer of 1936 he worked as a seasonal ranger in Yellowstone National Park, which he later called “One of the greatest summers of my life.” Admitted to Yale’s law school in the spring of 1938, he received an LL.B. in 1941, graduating in the top 25 percent of his class.⁠[3][2][1]

Ford returned to Grand Rapids and formed a law partnership with Philip A. Buchen. In April 1942 he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve as an ensign, and from the spring of 1943 he served aboard the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey in operations including Truk, Saipan and the Philippines, surviving a December 1944 typhoon in the Philippine Sea; he earned ten battle stars and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in February 1946.⁠[3][5]

After the war he joined the Grand Rapids law firm of Butterfield, Keeney, and Amberg.⁠[3]

In the midst of his first congressional campaign, Ford married Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer Warren, a department store fashion consultant, on October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids.⁠[6][4][1]

In 1948 Ford defeated the incumbent congressman, Barney Jonkman, in the Republican primary and on November 2 was elected to represent Michigan’s Fifth Congressional District with 61 percent of the vote. He took his seat on January 3, 1949, and was reelected twelve times, each time with more than 60 percent.⁠[5][3][1]

He joined the House Appropriations Committee in 1951 and in 1961 became ranking minority member of its Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The Miller Center attributes his rise in Congress to his solid conservatism, warm personality, knowledge of the budget and willingness to accommodate opponents.⁠[1][5]

In 1963 Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) was an American politician who served Texas as a U.S. representative and senator and led the Senate Democrats, became vice president in 1961 and succeeded to the presidency on the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, serving as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. His administration enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other “Great Society” legislation while expanding the U.S. military commitment in the Vietnam War.Open the full entry appointed Ford to the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy (1917–1963) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 to 1963. The youngest person elected president and the first Roman Catholic to hold the office, he was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.Open the full entry. In 1965 Ford and John R. Stiles published Portrait of the Assassin.⁠[1]

Ford became House minority leader in 1965 and held the post until Richard Nixon named him vice president in 1973, giving more than 200 speeches a year. BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopedia first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768; the name also refers to its publisher, Chicago-based Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (which presents itself as The Britannica Group). The print edition ended in 2012, and the company’s main businesses since then have been the online encyclopedia Britannica.com, digital education products for schools and libraries, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.Open the full entry writes that in Congress he developed a reputation for honesty and openness.⁠[7][3]

After Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the fall of 1973 following a no-contest plea to income tax evasion, Richard Nixon nominated Ford to succeed him under the 25th Amendment. Britannica notes that Democratic congressional leaders would approve no other Republican, while the Miller Center writes that Nixon chose him because Congress would easily confirm him. Ford was confirmed and sworn in on December 6, 1973.⁠[1][7][5]

When Nixon’s resignation took effect on August 9, 1974, Ford took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Warren Burger, and declared, “our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works.” On August 20 he named former New York Governor Nelson A. RockefellerNelson RockefellerNelson Rockefeller (1908–1979) was an American Republican politician, businessman and art collector who served as governor of New York from 1959 to 1973 and as vice president of the United States from December 1974 to January 1977; he was the second vice president to be nominated and confirmed by Congress under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Open the full entry as his vice-presidential nominee; Rockefeller was confirmed on December 19, 1974.⁠[8][3]

On September 8, 1974, Ford announced from the Oval Office, in Proclamation 4311, that he would “grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon” for offenses he had committed or may have committed in office. White House Press Secretary Jerald terHorst resigned because he could not support the decision, and the White House received thousands of letters and messages, many of which saw the pardon as part of a “secret deal.” Britannica writes that for many the pardon destroyed Ford’s credibility.⁠[9][8][7]

On September 16, 1974, Ford’s Proclamation 4313 created a clemency program under which Vietnam-era draft evaders and deserters could qualify through alternative service. On October 17 he testified about the pardon before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, becoming the first sitting president to give sworn congressional testimony.⁠[8][9]

On October 8, 1974, in an address to Congress on the economy, Ford announced the “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) program. He had inherited high inflation, and his response slowed the economy, bringing on a severe recession in 1974–75 in which inflation fell but unemployment rose to nearly 9 percent; Britannica judges that WIN did little to resolve the economic problems. He also sought to curb inflation and unemployment through modest tax cuts, deregulation and decontrolled energy prices.⁠[8][7][1]

On November 17, 1974, Ford left on a trip to Japan, South Korea and the Soviet Union, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Japan. He continued Nixon’s policy of détente with the Soviet Union and pursued “shuttle diplomacy” in the Middle East with Secretary of State Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHenry Kissinger (1923–2023) was a German-born American diplomat and political scientist who served as US national security adviser from 1969 to 1975 and as the 56th secretary of state from 1973 to 1977, the first person to hold both posts at once. He led the opening to China, détente and arms control talks with the Soviet Union, the Vietnam ceasefire negotiations and shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, and shared the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize with Le Duc Tho; his role in Chile, Cambodia, South Asia and East Timor drew lasting criticism.Open the full entry.⁠[8][2][1]

In March 1975 Ford ordered an airlift of some 237,000 anticommunist Vietnamese refugees from Da Nang, most of whom were taken to the United States. On April 29 he ordered the emergency evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, saying, “This action closes a chapter in the American experience.”⁠[7][8][5]

On May 12, 1975, Cambodia seized the U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez and its crew. On May 14 Ford ordered forces to retake the ship; all 39 crew members were saved, but 41 Americans died in the operation. Britannica notes that the strike was launched from Thailand against the Thai government’s wishes.⁠[8][3][7]

During a trip to Europe from July 26 to August 4, 1975, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords with 35 other countries, affirming détente, territorial integrity and human rights. U.S.-Soviet talks in this period covered arms limits, trade and the Apollo-Soyuz mission.⁠[8][1]

Ford survived two assassination attempts in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry, on September 5 and September 22, 1975; in the second, a shot fired as he left a hotel in San Francisco missed him by several feet. In October 1975 he initially refused loans to New York City before reversing course. On November 3 he dismissed the Director of Central Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense, an episode called the “Sunday Morning Massacre.”⁠[8][3][7]

On July 4, 1976, Ford spoke at Valley Forge to mark the 200th anniversary of American independence. On August 19 he won the Republican nomination on the first ballot, narrowly defeating Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Reagan (1911–2004) was an American politician and actor who worked as a radio sports announcer and film actor before serving as governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989.Open the full entry 1,187 to 1,070, and chose Senator Robert Dole as his running mate. He was the first incumbent president to agree to public debates with a challenger; in the debate of October 6 he said, “I don’t believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union.”⁠[8][3][7]

By the end of 1976 Ford had issued more than 50 vetoes, more than 40 of which were sustained.⁠[7]

On November 2, 1976, Ford lost the presidential election to the Democrat Jimmy CarterJimmy CarterJimmy Carter (1924–2024) was an American politician and Democrat who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. His administration brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, signed the Panama Canal treaties and established relations with the People’s Republic of China, but he lost his reelection bid amid the energy crisis, inflation and the Iran hostage crisis; after leaving office he founded The Carter Center to work on mediation, election observation and disease control, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.Open the full entry, who won 50.1 percent of the popular vote; the popular vote was about 40.8 million to 39.1 million and the electoral vote 297 to 240. The National Archives biography calls it one of the closest elections in history.⁠[8][7][1]

Ford’s term ended on January 20, 1977, and he moved to Rancho Mirage, California, and served on corporate boards. In 1979 he published his memoir, A Time to Heal; in 1980 he declined Ronald Reagan’s offer of the vice-presidential nomination; and in 1982 he established the AEIAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a public-policy think tank based in Washington, DC, founded in 1938. Its research covers economics, foreign and defense policy, social, cultural, and constitutional issues, and domestic policy.Open the full entry World Forum. He remained active in politics, spoke publicly on major issues and received honorary degrees from many colleges and universities.⁠[8][3][7][1]

The Gerald R. Ford Library broke ground in January 1979 on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, held its cornerstone ceremony that June, cost $4.2 million and opened to the public on April 27, 1981. The Gerald R. Ford Museum, on the west bank of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids, was dedicated in September 1981 at a gala attended by President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan; it cost $11 million, with funds raised from more than 14,000 individual donors. Both belong to the presidential library system of the National Archives and Records Administration; an addition to the museum opened on July 11, 2003.⁠[10][11]

On May 21, 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presented Ford with the Profile in Courage Award for his “controversial decision of conscience” to pardon Nixon; the award was presented by Caroline Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, who said, “time has a way of clarifying past events, and now we see that President Ford was right.”⁠[12][9]

Ford died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006, at age 93. He lay in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, where some 36,000 people paid their respects and eulogies were delivered on December 30, 2006. His state funeral was held at the National Cathedral in Washington on January 2, 2007, with eulogies by George W. Bush, George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush (1924–2018) was an American politician who served as a Navy pilot in World War II and worked in the oil business before holding posts including U.S. representative, ambassador to the United Nations and director of the Central Intelligence Agency; he was vice president from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993.Open the full entry, Henry Kissinger and the journalist Tom Brokaw.⁠[1][13][2]

On January 3, 2007, services were held at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, with eulogies by Jimmy Carter, Donald Rumsfeld and the historian Richard Norton Smith, and Ford was interred the same day on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.⁠[13][3]

Ford and Betty Ford (1918–2011) had four children: Michael Gerald (born March 14, 1950), John Gardner (born March 16, 1952), Steven Meigs (born May 19, 1956) and Susan Elizabeth (born July 6, 1957).⁠[3][6]

The Miller Center’s essay judges Ford’s record “decidedly mixed,” with policies that were “neither spectacular successes nor disastrous failures,” while noting that scholars largely agree his decency and honesty helped restore public faith in political leaders. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s release says many historians believe the Nixon pardon contributed to his 1976 defeat, and the Ford Library also judges that the pardon most likely contributed to it.⁠[5][12][9]

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum: Official website: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[11]