Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (née Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon.She also served as the second lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 when her husband was vice president.. Born in Ely, Nevada, she grew up with her two brothers in …

People around the world knew her as Pat Nixon, wife of the 37th U.S. president. But she didn’t take Patricia as her name till she was 19 years old, when she enrolled at Fullerton Junior College in 1931. She thought the graceful-sounding name was a …

Jun 22, 1993 · Pat entered the White House at a time of rapidly changing expectations for women and their roles in American society. She became the first First Lady to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment and to disclose her pro-choice view on abortion in reaction to questions on the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion.

Aug 6, 2024 · The loss of her mother when Pat was a teenager led to her assuming maternalistic duties. Economic hardship hit their household, but Pat didn’t shy away from working a job while attending high school.

During the Nixons' tenure as the nation's Second Couple, Pat Nixon assumed a relatively low profile. She raised her two daughters and was unfailingly supportive of her husband. His defeat in the 1960 presidential election was a crushing blow to Pat. When Nixon achieved the Presidency eight years later, she was clearly elated.

Jun 22, 1993 · When her parents became ill, eventually dying between 1926 and 1930, she, as a teenager, became their caregiver. She cooked for her older brothers in addition to the farm hands and worked as the high school janitor to earn money.

Patricia Ryan Nixon (March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon.

Pat, no stranger to difficult challenges, navigated the situation the best way she knew how—by working hard and living up to her own beliefs. Pat’s early life was hard. She grew up on a hard...

Mar 6, 2025 · In her book, Pat Nixon: The Untold Story, Julie Nixon Eisenhower describes how for her mother “the trip had been a natural response to an acute human need” but this move had a lasting impact by changing the role of First Lady into a more active position. It also established an international model for humanitarian response to natural disasters.

Pat Nixon was the first lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. Her husband, Richard M. Nixon, was the 37th president. During her time as first lady, Pat encouraged citizens to volunteer their time to help those in need. Thelma Catherine Ryan was born on …