Pat Nixon

Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan, but more commonly known as Patricia Nixon, was the wife on President Nixon and the First Lady from 1969 - 1974. She was the first First Lady to enter a combat zone, as well as to visit China and the Soviet Union.

Born in Nevada, her father had many jobs. He was not just a sailor but also a gold miner and truck farmer. Her mother later died when she was only 12, and she assumed all the household duties, as well as taking care of her siblings. She held lots of jobs as a child, working on the family farm and as a janitor and bookkeeper. During an interview in 1968 for her husbands presidential campaign she said, "I never had time to think about things like that—who I wanted to be, or who I admired, or to have ideas. I never had time to dream about being anyone else. I had to work." She attended Fullerton College, paying her way through with odd jobs. In 1931, she enrolled in UCLA, determined to get a degree in merchandising as well as a certificate in teaching. After receiving her teaching certificate, she moved out to go teach in Whittier California, where she met Richard Nixon. The two became close after the were cast together in a theater production. Nixon asked Pat to marry him on the first date, and when she called him crazy, he pursued her for two years until they were married in 1940.

They had a brief honeymoon in Mexico, and when they returned, Nixon was stationed in San Francisco by the Navy, while she worked as an economic analyst. The Nixons were said to be private people, and when Richard began his political career, Pat was a huge part of his campaign. As a First Lady she had many campaigns. She was very traveled, and went on solo ambassador missions to Africa and South America.