Former President Gerald Ford passed away. Ironically, given his portrayal in the media, he was probably the best athlete ever to be President - he actually was offered contracts to play pro football, but went to Yale Law School instead.
He was never elected President, and took office in one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history, but served honorably and did his best to calm the country and to rebuild the morale of the military.
RIP
July 14, 1913 ? Born Leslie Lynch King Jr., the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, in Omaha, Neb. Two weeks after his birth, his parents separated and his mother took him to Grand Rapids, Mich., to live with her parents.
Feb. 1, 1916 ? Mother marries paint salesman Gerald Ford two years after her divorce from King was final. They start calling her son Gerald Ford Jr. He legally changes his name in 1935.
1927 ? Attains rank of Eagle Scout.
1931 ? Wins football scholarship to University of Michigan.
June 1935 ? Gets bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he played center on the football team. Michigan Wolverines football team won national championship in 1932 and 1933. Ford was named MVP of team in 1934.
1935 ? Receives offers to play for Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, but turns them down to coach boxing and football at Yale University.
Summer 1940 ? Works for Wendell Willkie’s failed presidential campaign.
1941 ? Gets degree from Yale Law School, graduating in the top third of his class.
1941 ? Admitted to the Michigan bar. Sets up law partnership in Grand Rapids, Mich.
April 1942 ? Enlists in Navy. Sees service on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII.
February 1946 ? Discharged from the Navy as a lieutenant commander.
Oct. 15, 1948 ? Marries Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer. They go on to have four children: Michael Gerald, John Gardner, Steven Meigs and Susan Elizabeth.
Jan. 3, 1949 ? Begins first term in House of Representatives. Would be reelected 12 times. Once described himself as “a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy.”
1951 ? Appointed to House Appropriations Committee.
1961 ? Defeats Charles Hoeven to become chairman of the House Republican Conference, the No. 3 leadership position in the party.
1964 ? Gains national attention when he makes speech at the Republican National Convention to nominate Michigan Governor George Romney.
1965 ? Co-authors “Portrait of the Assassin,” with John R. Stiles, a book about the findings of the Warren Commission.
1965 ? Elected House minority leader.
Dec. 6, 1973 ? Chosen by Richard Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president. Agnew resigned after pleading no contest to income tax evasion. Becomes the first vice president to be appointed under the provisions of the 25th Amendment.
Aug. 9, 1974 ? Nixon resigns, on the brink of impeachment for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Ford takes the oath of office. In speech to the nation, he says. “Our long national nightmare is over. I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances … . This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”
August 1974 ? Proposes conditional amnesty for evaders and deserters of Vietnam War. Nominates Nelson Rockefeller as vice president.
September 8, 1974 ? Grants Nixon a full pardon, angering many. Ford never recovered politically from this move, though he always defended it as the right decision for the country.
October 1974 ? Goes on television, urging Americans to “Whip Inflation Now,” a largely failed campaign. Inflation would continue to stifle economy throughout his tenure. Becomes the first sitting president ever to testify before Congress, denying that a deal was made before he assumed the presidency to pardon Nixon.
March 1975 ? Orders airlift of 237,000 anticommunist South Vietnamese refugees, most of whom are taken to the U.S.
May 1975 ? Mayaguez Incident. Cambodia seizes an American cargo ship. Ford dispatches Marines to rescue the crew, but they land on the wrong island and meet unexpected resistance. Fifty marines are injured and 41 killed in the operation.
July 8, 1975 ? Announces his intention to be the Republican candidate for president in 1976.
Sept. 5, 1975 ? A follower of cult leader Charles Manson, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, tries to assassinate him in Sacramento. Secret service agents intervene before shots are fired.
Sept. 22, 1975 ? Sara Jane Moore tries to shoot him in San Francisco. Ex-Marine Oliver Sipple wrestles the gun from her and shoots her in the foot, thwarting the attack.
November 1975 ? Appoints John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court.
1976 ? Wins Republican nomination for president.
Fall 1976 ? First incumbent president to agree to debates with challenger.
November 1976 ? Loses election by 2% of the popular vote to Jimmy Carter. Carter, during his inauguration speech, says “For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.”
1977 ? Retires, with wife Betty, to Rancho Mirage, Calif., where he remains active in the community. Serves on several corporate boards, lectures at universities around the country and donates time and money to charities, especially the Boy Scouts of America and the Betty Ford Center for addiction recovery.
1979 ? Publishes memoir, “A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford.”
1981 ? The Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids are dedicated.
1982 ? Establishes the AEI World Forum, which he hosts annually in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colo. This is an international gathering of former and current world leaders and business executives to discuss political and business policies impacting current issues.
1987 ? Publishes book “Humor and the Presidency.” Ford was known for his sense of humor, appearing on “Saturday Night Live” as himself during his run for re-election, despite the show’s frequent lampooning of him.
August 1999 ? Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton for his efforts to heal the nation after Watergate.
October 1999 ? Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, along with wife Betty, for dedicated public service.
August 2000 ? Suffers minor stroke.
2001 ? Receives Profiles in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for political courage in the decision to pardon President Nixon.
Nov. 12, 2004 ? Attends groundbreaking ceremony at the University of Michigan for the new home of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
2005 ? Hospitalized for severe cold. Released within 24 hours.
January 2006 ? Spends 12 days in a California hospital for treatment of pneumonia.
August 2006 ? Undergoes treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, receiving a cardiac pacemaker and angioplasty.
December 2006 ? Dies at age 93, his wife, Betty, reports.