Richard M. Nixon Collection
Finding aid created by Whittier College - Wardman Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Whittier College - Wardman Library
2024
7031 Founders Hill Road
Whittier, California 90602
(562) 907-4247
https://www.whittier.edu/library/library-forms/special
Title: Richard M. Nixon Collection
Dates: 1930-1994
Collection Number: Nixon Collection
Creator/Collector:
Peck, Bryam
Whittier College
Extent: 110 boxes (577 linear feet)
Online items available
Repository:
Whittier College - Wardman Library
Whittier, California 90602
Abstract: United States politician Richard Milhous Nixon served as a member of the House of Representatives, the Senate, as Vice President,
and as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He had close ties to Whittier College and the city of Whittier.
The Collection contains a wide range of information pertaining to all stages of his life in a variety of formats and materials.
Language of Material: English
The collection is open for research use except where otherwise noted.
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce must be obtained from Wardman Library, Whittier College.
[Identification of item]. Richard M. Nixon Collection . Collection Number: Nixon Collection. Whittier College - Wardman Library
A significant portion of this collection was donated by Bryam Peck. Other contributors include Irwin F. Gellman.
Biography/Administrative History
United States politician Richard Milhous Nixon served as a member of the House of Representatives (1947-1950), the Senate
(1950-1952), as Vice President (1952-1961), and as the thirty-seventh president of the United States (1968-1974). He was born
on the Nixon family lemon farm in Yorba Linda, California, on January 9, 1913. During childhood, Nixon regularly attended
Quaker services in Whittier, California, where the family moved in 1922 after the farm failed and where Nixon's father ran
a grocery store. Nixon attended Whittier College where he excelled as a student and debater. He was president of his freshman
class and president of the student body during his senior year, participated in the football, basketball, track, and debate
teams, and co-founded the Orthogonian Society. Graduating second in his class in 1934, he won a scholarship to study law at
Duke University.
At the age of 26, Nixon was elected to the Whittier College Board of Trustees. During this time, Nixon met Thelma Catherine
Patricia (Pat) Ryan, a high school teacher. They married in 1940 and had two daughters, Patricia and Julie. Nixon entered
the Navy as a lieutenant junior-grade in August 1942 in order to serve in the Second World War. After the Navy, a group of
Whittier Republicans asked him to run for Congress; Nixon agreed and began his political career in earnest. That career concluded
on August 9, 1974 when he resigned from the Presidency after being impeached for his role in the Watergate scandal. As a private
citizen, Nixon visited a variety of countries on behalf of the U.S., consulted with the Bush and Clinton Administrations,
and wrote memoirs and books on international politics. Nixon died of a stroke on April 22, 1994.
The Nixon Collection contains one sub-series, the Gloria Gae Gellman Papers. This finding aid was created by Paige Harris
in 2023.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Collection includes various materials pertaining to Nixon’s college years, Congressional, Senatorial, Vice Presidential
and Presidential offices; an eclectic collection of campaign ephemera, political cartoons, memorabilia, general correspondence,
appearances, invitations, foreign trips, gifts, newspaper clippings, photographs, souvenirs, brochures, audio visual, periodicals
and monograph publications.
Presidents--United States
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Watergate Affair, 1972-1974
Political campaigns -- United States
United States--Politics and government—1945-1989
United States--Foreign relations
Statesmen--United States
Popular culture--United States--Periodicals
Quakers
Nixon, Richard M. -- (Richard Milhous), -- 1913-1994
Nixon, Pat, -- 1912-1993