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After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, Nixon graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife, the former Thelma "Pat" Ryan, moved to Washington in 1942 so he could work for the federal government in the Office of Price Administration. He served in the United States Navy during World War II from August of 1942 until 1945. Nixon earned two service stars and a citation of commendation, although he saw no actual combat.
Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Alger Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was selected as the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He ran for President in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and then lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. People thought that this was the end of Nixon's political career and he said as much to reporters when he told them "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more."
In 1968 he ran again for the presidency and was elected, following Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek re-election and Robert Kennedy's assassination. The Vietnam War was the big issue of the day and although Nixon initially escalated the war, he eventually ended US involvement in 1973. Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and an Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union the same year. Domestically, his administration adopted a number of policies now considered quite liberal in retrospect. Among other things, he initiated wars on cancer and drugs, imposed wage and price controls, enforced desegregation of Southern schools and established the Environmental Protection Agency. He was President when Apollo 11 landed a man on the moon, but he later scaled back manned space exploration. Nixon was reelected by a landslide in 1972.
His second term is best remembered for the Watergate scandal, which escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support. As it became apparent that Nixon had knowledge of the attempts to cover-up the break-in and as his efforts to escape legal accountability failed, he faced impeachment, and so on August 9, 1974, he resigned in the face of almost certain removal from office. After his resignation, he was controversially issued a pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.
In retirement, Nixon's work authoring several books and undertaking many foreign trips helped to rehabilitate his image as an elder statesman. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81.
Many people remember Nixon for his statement that he was "not a crook." Here is a brief YouTube video of him making that statement at a press conference.