The Nixon White House: 1969-1974

Gallery

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This portrait of President Richard M. Nixon with his family in the Yellow Oval Room was taken on Father's Day, June 15, 1969. Pictured from left: the president's son-in-law, David Eisenhower; the president's youngest daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower; President Nixon; First Lady Pat Nixon; and Tricia Nixon, the president's eldest daughter. This photograph is part of the collection of former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. As executive chef from 1966-1987, Haller catered to the taste of five first families and their distinguished guests.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
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This photograph by James E. Russell shows Tricia Nixon speaking with CBS News reporters Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner on the Truman Balcony. Nixon gave a tour of the White House as part of a segment for the news program "60 Minutes that was broadcast on May 26, 1970. A Norelco television camera and a boom mike indicate the conversation was part of the recording. The White House south grounds, the Washington Monument and Jefferson Monument are all visible from President Truman's 1948 addition to the house.
White House Historical Association
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In this photograph, taken by Oliver F. Atkins on July 8, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon meets with leaders of the Taos Pueblo American Indian Tribal Council in the Cabinet Room in the West Wing. Among those in attendance were Taos Pueblo Governor Quirino Romero, Cacique religious leader Juan de Jesus Romero, secretary and interpreter Paul Bernal, senior councilman James Mirabal, president of the National Congress of American Indians and member of the National Council on Indian Opportunity Earl Old Person, and John Rainer, vice president of the National Congress of American Indians and member of the National Council on Indian Opportunity. Later that year, on December 15, 1970, Nixon signed bill H.R. 471 in the State Dining Room, which returned Blue Lake and surrounding mountains to the Taos Pueblo people. The land had been seized by the United States government in 1906.
Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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In this photograph, President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon meet with Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Edward Heath of Great Britain. The Nixons met Queen Elizabeth Prime Minister Heath at Chequers, the Buckinghamshire country residence for the sitting prime minister. The visit followed a June 1970 visit to the White House by Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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In this photograph, taken on December 21, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley greet one another in the Oval Office. Out of concern for the country Presley wrote Nixon a letter suggesting he be appointed a Federal Agent at Large. Nixon agreed and granted Presley a federal narcotics badge during this visit. Presley gifted the president a pistol and some family photos for hosting the meeting.
Nixon Presidential Materials Project, National Archives and Records Administration
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In this photograph, newlyweds Tricia Nixon and Edward Cox join family members and their wedding party in the Blue Room. Tricia's parents, President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon stand near Tricia, along with their younger daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Haller served as executive chef at the White House from 1966-1987, overseeing the food preparations for the White House wedding receptions for three first daughters: Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Nixon.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
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This photograph of First Lady Pat Nixon with Dorothy Anderson and Sean McCombs, patients at the Washington Hospital for Sick Children, was taken on October 21, 1971 during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. Mrs. Nixon had the first wheelchair ramps installed in the Executive Mansion for use by disabled or elderly visitors.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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This photograph of First Lady Pat Nixon and daughter Julie Nixon Eisenhower appreciating the details of the White House gingerbread house was taken by Jack E. Kightlinger on December 13, 1971, during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The house featured the German A-frame design and was based on the story of Hansel and Gretel. It was created by then Assistant Executive Chef Hans Raffert for Mrs. Nixon, who was the first to start this holiday tradition.
Richard Nixon Foundation
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This photograph of the Nixon family posing for a portrait in front of 1971 Blue Room Christmas tree was taken by Oliver F. Atkins on December 24, 1971. This photo is among the family's favorite family portraits from their White House years. Pictured from left to right is Edward Cox, Tricia Nixon Cox, First Lady Pat Nixon, President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and David Eisenhower.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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This photograph, taken on February 24, 1972, shows President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon visiting the Great Wall of China. President Nixon visited the People's Republic of China to normalize relations with the communist country. This was the first time a sitting American president visited China. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Haller served as executive chef at the White House from 1966-1987.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
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This photograph is of First Lady Pat Nixon speaking with journalists during a press preview of the Blue Room restoration on May 15, 1972. The refurbished Blue Rooms style was inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture President James Monroe purchased for the room in 1817. The walls were covered with beige wallpaper, featuring an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures. Blue curtains hung the length of the room. The room also included a new oval plaster design in the center of the ceiling completed by Herbert John Millard, a wood carver from Roswell, Georgia.
White House Historical Association
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This photograph of First Lady Pat Nixon greeting Candle Lighters on the steps of the North Portico was taken by Jack E. Kightlinger during a candlelight tour in 1972, during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance is an organization that provides emotional, educational, practical and financial support to families of children fighting cancer.
Richard Nixon Foundation
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In this photograph, taken April 14, 1973 by Karl Schumacher, President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon lead a group including children and Washington, D.C. Mayor-Commissioner Walter Washington on a private tour of the White House Rose Garden. The children were winners of a student poster contest sponsored by the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital, an organization founded by Mary Lasker and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 1964.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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In this photograph, taken on May 24, 1973, President Nixon shakes the hand of returned POW John McCain. McCain retired from the United States Navy in 1981 and went on to serve the state of Arizona both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This South Lawn event was, and still is, the biggest dinner event held on White House grounds with 126 tables, and over 1,300 guests. The dinner celebrated the recent release of U.S. POWs just three months prior.
Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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In this photograph taken by Robert L. Knudsen, President Richard Nixon gives his famous "V" sign as he departs the White House for the last time and boards the Marine One helicopter. On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned from office. After addressing cabinet members, staff, and White House employees, he and his family departed the White House.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

About this Gallery

On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as Vice President under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the Nixon White House, First Lady Pat Nixon was defined by her dedication to community service, accessibility, historic preservation, and diplomacy, as well as the beloved holiday gingerbread tradition she began.