Pat Nixon

Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (née Ryan) was born on March 16, 1912, in Ely, Nevada. Her father, William M. Ryan Sr., was a sailor, gold miner, and truck farmer of Irish descent, and her mother, Katherine Halberstadt, was a German immigrant. The nickname "Pat" was given to her by her father due to her Irish heritage and her birth date being just before Saint Patrick's Day. Her family moved to California shortly after her birth, settling on a small truck farm in Artesia (present-day Cerritos) in 1914.

Pat Nixon's high school years culminated with her graduation from Excelsior Union High School in Norwalk, California, in 1929. She attended Fullerton Junior College and later the University of Southern California (USC), where she studied merchandising, earning a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in 1937. During her college years, she worked various jobs to finance her education, including as a pharmacy manager, typist, radiographer, secretary, and retail clerk. Additionally, she appeared briefly in several films, such as "Becky Sharp" (1935) and "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936), although her film career was limited, and she later characterized her engagement in Hollywood as fleeting.

After graduating from USC, Pat Nixon accepted a position as a high school teacher at Whittier Union High School in Whittier, California. Her early career was characterized by her determination to work multiple jobs, which included driving, working as a bank janitor and bookkeeper, and teaching in high schools.

In 1940, she married Richard Nixon, a young lawyer and former fellow member of a local theater group. Their wedding took place at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. The couple had two daughters: Patricia "Tricia," born in 1946, and Julie, born in 1948. During World War II, Richard Nixon served as a U.S. Navy officer, while Pat worked as a secretary and later as an economic analyst for the Office of Price Administration.

Pat Nixon became actively involved in her husband's political campaigns, participating in efforts to support his campaigns for Congress in 1946 and 1948. She was noted for her campaign work, including researching opponents and preparing campaign literature.

Richard Nixon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946, and subsequently, he served as a U.S. Senator before being selected as the vice-presidential candidate for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Pat Nixon served as the Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 during Richard Nixon’s vice presidency. She was involved in many public and charitable activities, emphasizing volunteerism and undertaking missions of goodwill domestically and abroad.

As First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974, Pat Nixon promoted charitable causes, oversaw the collection of extensive art and furnishings for the White House, and was the most traveled first lady at that time. She made historic visits to China and the Soviet Union and was the first first lady to undertake official trips to Africa and South America independently of the president, earning recognition as "Madame Ambassador." She was also the first first lady to enter a combat zone.

Her husband's presidency ended in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal. Following his resignation, the Nixons settled in San Clemente, California, and later moved to New Jersey. Pat Nixon experienced health issues, including two strokes—one in 1976 and another in 1983—and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992. She died on June 22, 1993, at the age of 81.