The 37th president of the United States (1969-1974). Vice president (1953-1961) under Dwight D. Eisenhower, he lost the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy. Elected president in 1968, he visited China (1972) and established détente with the USSR. Although he increased US military involvement in Southeast Asia, he eventually withdrew US troops from the region. After Congress recommended three articles of impeachment for Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal, he resigned from office (1974).