I am not a crook, Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th president of the United States, was born January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California to Francis A and Hannah Milhous Nixon. Richard Milhous Nixon was one of the most controversial politicians. Even with Watergate, and all of Nixon's lies and mistakes, many historians call his presidency a success. Richard did not enjoy an easy childhood. His father Francis had a short tempter that led him to his soul hate of his four sons. Nixon did excel in one thing that was school. .
Nixon entered Whittier College near his Yorba Linda family home. Richard Nixon was elected president of his class in his freshman and senior year. As president he often attended small groups are the campus. At the small meetings he was shy and reserved, but when he was in front of a crowd he would excel with his speaking skills. To help meet expenses, he drove a truck and picked up vegetables for the family store. He was ashamed of this kind of work and did it before sunrise so that none of his classmates would see him. These kinds of experiences scarred Nixon for life. He resented people who had money handed to them.
His school work and brains paid off as he graduated second in his class of 1937. Richard's good college record and recommendations from his teachers enabled him to win a scholarship to Duke University. He then graduated from Duke with a law degree, and was admitted to the California Bar. In 1939 he became a partner in Bewley, Knoop, and Nixon. .
Nixon found his love Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan at the small law firm. On June 21, 1940 was a day of wedlock when, Richard Nixon said "I do" and married Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan. Richard and Thelma would later have two daughters, Julie and Tricia. .
As America entered World War One, Nixon served in Washington, D.C., as a lawyer with the Office of Price Administration. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor he longed for a military post, and became a Navy lieutenant.