冷战中的美国  (1913年1月9日～1994年4月22日)

开端 终结 在位 1969年 1974年  传记 biography： 《领袖们》

　　理查德·米尔豪斯·尼克松（Richard Milhous Nixon，1913年1月9日－1994年4月22日），第36任美国副总统（1953年－1961年）与第37任美国总统（1969年－1974年）。尼克松是美国史上唯一当过两届总统与两届副总统的人，但也是唯一于在位期间，以辞职的方式离开总统职位的美国总统。
　　
　　生平
　　政治生涯
　　
　　1946年，尼克松当选美国众议员，开始了他的政治生涯。他在1952年与1956年两度与德怀特·D·艾森豪威尔搭档参选并获得胜利，在1953年到1961年间，担任了两届副总统职务。1960年尼克松竞选总统，以微弱票差被约翰·肯尼迪击败，又在1962年竞选加利福尼亚州州长时落败而暂时离开国家权力中枢。1968年尼克松重返政坛，在当年的美国大选中顺利当选为美国第46届（第37任）美国总统，1972年又连任第47届总统。他在1974年8月因“水门事件”事件曝光之后（授权非法闯入民主党在水门饭店的总部，并下令掩盖事件真相，事后福特总统给予尼克松特赦，以便缓解全美上下在尼克松总统因水门事件辞职后出现的分歧。）被迫辞去总统职务，成为唯一以辞职离任的美国总统。
　　
　　尼克松生性多疑，在美国政坛有“难以捉摸的迪克”（Tricky Dick）绰号。尼克松在1959年7月莫斯科举行的美国国家展览会（American National Exhibition）开幕式上，与时任苏联部长会议主席的赫鲁晓夫之间展开过一场关于东西方意识形态和核战争的论战，史称“厨房辩论”。在任期内，将美国军队撤出了越南，逐渐结束了那场使国家陷入危机的战争。透过乒乓球活动尝试与中华人民共和国建立外交关系，并支持其进入联合国，史称“乒乓外交”，改善了中国大陆与美国的关系。尼克松于1972年2月访问中国大陆，是美国总统第一次访问一个与美国没有正式外交关系的国家，对中国大陆的7天访问被称为“改变世界的一周”。当时，尼克松率团访问了北京、杭州、上海三个城市，并在杭州西湖边的园林中与周恩来草签了轰动世界的《中美联合公报》。中华人民共和国与美国两国关系正常化，美中苏三角外交的态势开始形成，在很长一段时间里成为决定国际形势发展的重要因素之一。
　　
　　晚年
　　
　　尼克松有两个女儿，长女帕特里夏·尼克松嫁给平民爱德华·考克斯，尽管此人的祖先可以追溯到主持乔治·华盛顿宣誓就任第一届美国总统的罗伯特·利因斯顿法官，尼克松依然觉得自己的爱女嫁的门不当户不对。尼克松的次女朱莉·尼克松则嫁给了德怀特·D·艾森豪威尔的独孙戴维·艾森豪威尔。
　　
　　1994年4月18日，尼克松在新泽西州家中突患中风，4月22日在纽约康奈尔医疗中心逝世，享年81岁。在他的墓碑上雕刻着这样一句话：“历史所能赋予的最高荣誉是和平缔造者”。
　　
　　他先后撰写出版了《尼克松回忆录》、《领袖们》、《1999：不战而胜》、《超越和平》等著作。

　　Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961).
　　
　　Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law in La Mirada. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific theater, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant commander during World War II. He was elected in 1946 as a Republican to the House of Representatives representing California's 12th Congressional district, and in 1950 to the United States Senate. He was selected to be the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party nominee, in the 1952 presidential election, becoming one of the youngest vice presidents in history. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962; following these losses, Nixon announced his withdrawal from the political scene. In 1968, however, he ran again for president of the United States and was elected.
　　
　　The most immediate task facing President Nixon was a resolution of the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict, overseeing incursions into neighboring countries, though American military personnel were gradually withdrawn and he successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. On the domestic front, he implemented new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. In his second term, the nation was afflicted with economic difficulties. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office.
　　
　　In his retirement, Nixon became a prolific author and undertook many foreign trips. His work as an elder statesman helped to rehabilitate his public image. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81.