50 Fun Facts About Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford was which number president of the United States?

He took over in August 1974 after Nixon resigned.

What name was Ford given at birth?

He was renamed for his stepfather; the change was formalised in 1935 with the spelling 'Rudolph'.

In which city was Ford born?

His parents separated just sixteen days after his birth and his mother took him to Michigan.

Ford is the only president to have earned which Boy Scout rank?

About 400 Eagle Scouts formed an honour guard at his 2007 funeral procession.

Ford played center and linebacker for which college football team?

The team won national titles in 1932 and 1933, and his teammates voted him MVP in the dismal 1934 season.

Which jersey number did the University of Michigan retire in Ford's honour in 1994?

It was put back into circulation in 2012 as part of the Michigan Football Legends program.

Ford turned down NFL offers from the Green Bay Packers and which other team?

He went to Yale instead as boxing coach and assistant football coach.

Where did Ford earn his law degree in 1941?

Yale first refused him because of his full-time coaching duties.

Ford served aboard which light aircraft carrier in the Pacific?

He was assistant navigator, athletic officer and antiaircraft battery officer.

Which December 1944 storm damaged Ford's ship and sank three destroyers?

Aircraft tore loose on the hangar deck and started a fire that Ford was sent below to assess.

Ford won his first House seat in 1948 by beating which isolationist incumbent?

A farm wager meant he spent two weeks milking cows after winning.

For how many years was Ford a member of the House of Representatives?

The final nine were as minority leader, and he never wrote a single piece of major legislation.

Which president appointed Ford to the Warren Commission in 1963?

Ford was assigned to prepare a biography of Lee Harvey Oswald and helped interview Jack Ruby.

Ford's 1965 book defending the Warren Report was titled what?

Co-written with John R. Stiles, it was described as the Warren Report repackaged.

Ford replaced which Indiana congressman as House minority leader in 1965?

The 'Young Turks' who backed him included a young Donald Rumsfeld.

Ford's televised press conferences with Senator Everett Dirksen were nicknamed what?

Johnson retorted that Ford had played 'too much football without a helmet'.

Whose resignation in October 1973 opened the vice presidency for Ford?

Nixon asked congressional leaders for advice, and the advice was unanimous: Ford.

Ford became the first vice president appointed under which constitutional amendment?

The Senate confirmed him 92–3 and the House 387–35.

Which White House chief of staff warned Ford on August 1, 1974 to prepare for the presidency?

Ford told his wife Betty they would never live in the vice president's house.

Where in the White House did Ford take the oath of office on August 9, 1974?

He told the nation 'our long national nightmare is over'.

Whom did Ford nominate as his own vice president on August 20, 1974?

Bush had been his top competitor for the job.

What was the number of the proclamation that pardoned Nixon on September 8, 1974?

Proclamation 4313, eight days later, created the conditional amnesty for draft evaders.

Which press secretary resigned in protest over the Nixon pardon?

He was also a close friend of Ford's.

Ford was the first sitting president since whom to testify before the House?

He testified on the pardon on October 17, 1974.

Which 1915 Supreme Court case did Ford carry in his wallet to justify the pardon?

The ruling held that accepting a pardon is tantamount to a confession of guilt.

Which two Nixon cabinet members did Ford keep through his whole term?

The sweeping fall 1975 reshuffle became known as the Halloween Massacre.

Whom did Ford name the youngest-ever Secretary of Defense in 1975?

Cheney then replaced him as chief of staff and ran Ford's 1976 campaign.

Ford made George H. W. Bush director of which agency in late 1975?

Bush had first been sent as chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China.

What did the letters on Ford's 1974 WIN buttons stand for?

Over nine days 101,240 Americans mailed in pledges; inflation was then above twelve percent.

Which newspaper ran the headline 'Ford to City: Drop Dead' in 1975?

Ford had vowed to veto any federal bailout of the nearly bankrupt city.

Roughly what share of Americans were vaccinated before the 1976 swine-flu program was cancelled?

Ford and his family were vaccinated on camera that October.

Which 1975 European security agreement did Ford sign, angering conservatives?

Helsinki Watch later evolved into Human Rights Watch.

Ford secured which country's membership at the first G7 summit in 1975?

The group had started as the G5.

At which university did Ford declare the Vietnam War over 'as far as America is concerned'?

The speech on April 23, 1975 came two days after President Thieu resigned.

What was the name of the 1975 helicopter evacuation of Saigon?

1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 Vietnamese and third-country nationals were flown out.

Which American merchant ship did Khmer Rouge forces seize in May 1975?

The rescue cost 41 American lives yet boosted Ford's approval by 11 points.

Which Manson follower pointed a pistol at Ford in Sacramento on September 5, 1975?

Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf grabbed the gun; she was paroled in 2009 after 34 years.

Which retired Marine deflected Sara Jane Moore's second shot in San Francisco?

The bullet hit a wall above Ford's head and ricocheted into a taxi driver.

Whom did Ford appoint to the Supreme Court in 1975?

Stevens replaced William O. Douglas, whom Ford had once tried to impeach.

Who challenged Ford for the 1976 Republican nomination?

Reagan won primaries in North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and California but withdrew at the Kansas City convention.

Which Kansas senator replaced Rockefeller as Ford's 1976 running mate?

The conservative insurgency pushed Ford to drop the more liberal Rockefeller.

Which comedian's pratfalls on Saturday Night Live caricatured Ford?

Ford wrote in his autobiography that the image affected the election 'to some degree'.

In the second 1976 debate, Ford wrongly denied Soviet domination of which region?

Questioner Max Frankel was visibly incredulous.

How many electoral votes did Ford win in the 1976 election?

Carter took 297 with 50.1% of the popular vote.

What was the title of Ford's 1979 autobiography?

Foreign Affairs called it the shortest and most honest of recent presidential memoirs.

What unprecedented arrangement did Ford demand to join Reagan's 1980 ticket?

Reagan rejected the terms and picked George H. W. Bush instead.

With which former rival did Ford form a close friendship after a 1981 trip to Sadat's funeral?

The two served as honorary co-chairs of federal election reform commissions.

Ford died in December 2006 in which California community?

At 93 years and 165 days he was then the longest-lived president, 45 days past Reagan.

What was Betty Ford's maiden name?

A former Martha Graham dancer and Powers model, she married Ford in October 1948 during his first campaign.

Which fight song did Ford often have played instead of 'Hail to the Chief'?

The Michigan Marching Band played it for his last ride from the Grand Rapids airport.