Gerald Ford
A Michigan football star and Yale-trained lawyer, and the only president never elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency.
Biography
Ford was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by his mother and stepfather, whose name he took. He was centre on two national-championship Michigan football teams, turned down offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, and worked as an assistant coach at Yale while persuading its law school to admit him. He served in the Pacific aboard the light carrier USS Monterey.
Elected to the House in 1948, he stayed for twenty-five years, becoming Republican leader in 1965. He was appointed vice president under the Twenty-fifth Amendment in December 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned, and became president on 9 August 1974 when Nixon resigned.
His 29 months in office covered the pardon of Richard Nixon, the highest inflation and the deepest recession since the 1930s, the fall of Saigon, the Helsinki Accords, New York City’s fiscal crisis, and two assassination attempts. He lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter.
Education
- South High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Graduated (1931)
- University of Michigan, B.A. in economics (1935)
- Yale Law School, LL.B. (1941)
Military service
United States Naval Reserve, 1942–1946; lieutenant commander; served aboard the USS Monterey in the Pacific.
Offices held before the presidency
- United States Representative from Michigan, 1949–1973 (House Minority Leader, 1965–1973)
- Vice President of the United States, 1973–1974 (appointed under the Twenty-fifth Amendment)