Gerald Rudolph Ford served from 1948-73 as a U.S. Congressman from Michigan. Known as a steady and loyal Republican, he was appointed to the vice presidency under Richard Nixon, after Spiro Agnew had been forced to resign. In 1974 President Nixon resigned, and Gerald "Gerry" Ford took office. Ford is famous for granting Nixon a full pardon of any crimes ("Our long national nightmare is over."), and for being the target of two assassination attempts while in office. He ran for re-election in 1976, but lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Ford served on the Warren Commission, the investigation into the assassination of John Kennedy... Ford's wife Betty Ford is the founder of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California... Gerald and Betty were married on 15 October 1948, and had four children: Michael (born 1950), John (also known as Jack, b. 1952), Steven (b. 1956) and Susan (b. 1957).

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