Gerald ford biography

The only President in the history of the United States not elected by American voters was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, His mother, Dorothy Ayer Gardner, soon divorced the boy's father—a wife-beating alcoholic—and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There she met Gerald Rudolph Ford, the owner of a paint store, and married him in Dorothy called her son "Junie," which soon became "Jerry" out of affection for the boy's new father-figure. Leslie King, Jr., did not learn of his biological father until he was a teenager, and after graduating from college he officially changed his name to Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. He often recalled his mother and her second husband with much affection, admiration, and love.

Sports, Studies, and Law School

The young Ford graduated in from South High School, where he excelled in history and government. He finished in the top 5 percent of his class and was named the most popular senior by his classmates. As a teenager, Ford worked at a local restaurant and took up the game of football. Playing center, he became one of the best in the state; his football talent helped him win admission to the University of Michigan.

At college, Ford majored in economics, held a series of jobs that helped him pay for school, and continued to play football. He was a solid student in the classroom and also excelled on the playing field. In his senior year, Ford started at center and was named the team's most valuable player. After graduation, both the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers offered Ford a contract. He turned them down, however, to enter law school. Football, ironically, made that dream a reality. Yale University needed an assistant football coach and, hoping to repay various debts and find a way into Yale's prestigious law school, Ford took the $2,a-year job in He quickly proved himself an excellent coach; among his football charges were future senators Robert Taft, Jr.

Gerald R. Ford became President of the United States on August 9, , under extraordinary circumstances. Owing to the Watergate scandal, Ford's predecessor, Richard Nixon, had resigned under the threat of congressional impeachment. Ford assumed leadership of a nation whose domestic economy and international prestige—both seemingly sound in the decades after World War II—had deteriorated considerably. Just as important, Watergate, as well as the debacle of the Vietnam War, had profoundly shaken the American public's confidence in its leaders. Gerald Ford stepped into the breach opened up by these converging dynamics and achieved mixed results in addressing the twin problems of economic and geopolitical decline. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, , Ford grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He distinguished himself as both a student and football player in high school and at the University of Michigan. Ford then gained admittance to Yale University's law school, from which he graduated in Following his graduation, he returned to Grand Rapids to practice law. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor officially brought the United States into World War II, Ford joined the U.S. Navy. He saw action aboard the Monterey, a light aircraft carrier in the South Pacific, winning ten battle stars for his service.

Politics and Marriage

After the war, Ford returned home to Grand Rapids, where he practiced law, got married, and entered politics. In , he unseated Congressman Bartel (Barney) Jonkman in the Republican primary and then easily defeated Democrat Fred J. Barr, Jr., in the general election. During that same year, he married Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Bloomer, whom he had met in Grand Rapids. Ford and his new bride moved to Washington, D.C., where he would represent Michigan's Fifth Congressional District for the next twenty-four years.

In Congress, Ford's solid conservatism, his warm personality, his knowledge of the budget and appropriations

Gerald Rudolph Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, on July 14, , in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated two weeks after his birth and divorced later that year. He and his mother eventually settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan where her parents lived. On February 1, , Dorothy King married Gerald R. Ford, a Grand Rapids paint salesman. The Fords began calling her son Gerald R. Ford, Jr., although his name was not legally changed until December 3, He had known since he was thirteen years old that Gerald Ford, Sr., was not his biological father, but it was not until when Leslie King made an unexpected stop in Grand Rapids that he had a chance meeting with this biological father. The future president grew up in a close-knit family which included three younger half-brothers, Thomas, Richard, and James.

Ford attended South High School in Grand Rapids, where he excelled scholastically and athletically, being named to the honor society and the "All-City" and "All-State" football teams. He was also active in scouting, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in November He earned spending money by working in the family paint business and at a local restaurant.

He received offers from two professional football t

Gerald R. Ford
(July 14, - December 26, )

Gerald Rudolph Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, on July 14, , in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated two weeks after his birth and divorced later that year. On February 1, , Dorothy King married Gerald R. Ford, a Grand Rapids paint salesman. The Fords began calling her son Gerald R. Ford, Jr., although his name was not legally changed until December 3,

From to Ford attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he majored in economics. Ford earned his LL. B. degree from Yale University in , graduating in the top 25 percent of his class. From to Ford served in the U.S. Naval Reserves, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander.

Gerald Ford served in the House of Representatives from January 3, to December 6, During the height of his first campaign Gerald Ford married Elizabeth Anne Bloomer Warren, a department store fashion consultant.

Ford became a member of the House Appropriations Committee in , and rose to prominence on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, becoming its ranking minority member in In President Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In Ford co-authored, with John R. Stiles, a book about the findings of the Commission, Portrait of the Assassin. He once described himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy."

President Nixon was empowered by the 25th Amendment to appoint a new vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned as Vice President of the United States late in , after pleading no contest to a charge of income tax evasion. He chose Gerald R. Ford to be the first vice president appointed to the office. Ford was confirmed and sworn in on December 6,

Following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon on August 9, , Gerald