August 8: On This Day in World History … briefly
Nixon was the ninth incumbent president not to complete the four-year term to which they had been elected since the presidency was established in 1789. He was however, the first to do so for a reason other than dying in office.
1974: Nixon quits
Richard Nixon made history on this day as the first US president to resign his office. In an emotional television address to the nation, Mr Nixon admitted to errors of judgement which he said demanded that he stand down.
Only four days before, the beleaguered president was forced to own up to his complicity in the break-in by members of his re-election committee to the Democratic Party Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington in June 1972.
Evidence of political espionage and a dirty tricks campaign against his opponents had been mounting. The resignation will take effect as of noon tomorrow, when Nixon’s deputy Gerald Ford will be sworn in as the 38th president of the United States.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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