Donald Nixon

For other people named Francis Nixon, see Francis Nixon (disambiguation).
Donald Nixon
Born Francis Donald Nixon
(1914-11-23)November 23, 1914
Died June 27, 1987(1987-06-27) (aged 72)
Spouse(s) Clara Jane Lemke Nixon (1942–1987, his death)
Children Richard C. Nixon
Donald A. Nixon
Lawrene Mae Nixon Anfinson
Parent(s) Hannah Milhous Nixon
Francis A. Nixon
Relatives Harold Nixon (brother)
Richard Nixon (brother)
Arthur Nixon (brother)
Edward Nixon (brother)
Pat Nixon (sister-in-law)
Edward F. Cox (nephew-in-law)
Tricia Nixon Cox (niece)
David Eisenhower (nephew-in-law)
Julie Nixon Eisenhower (niece)
Christopher N. Cox (great-nephew)
Jennie Eisenhower (great-niece)
Sarah Ann Wadsworth Nixon (grandmother)
Samuel Brady Nixon (grandfather)
Almira Park Burdg Milhous (grandmother)
Franklin Milhous (grandfather)

Francis Donald Nixon (November 23, 1914 – June 27, 1987) was the younger brother of former United States President Richard Nixon.

Family

He was the third of five children:

Life

He married Clara Jane Lemke (1920–2013[1]) in 1942 and had two sons, Richard C. Nixon and Donald A. Nixon, and a daughter, Lawrene Mae Nixon Anfinson.

Billboard for Nixon's restaurant, Orange County, circa 1955

In January 1957 Howard Hughes lent Donald Nixon $205,000 to bail out his "Nixon's" drive-in restaurant in Whittier, California.[2] The restaurant went bankrupt less than a year later. Questions about whether this was a political favor dogged Richard Nixon during his campaign for president and later when he sought the governorship of California.[3]

He never lived it down and one of the many speculated motives for the 1972 Watergate burglary that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation was a desire to find proof that the then-Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien was also secretly working for Hughes.[4] John H. Meier, one of Hughes's former business advisers, in collaboration with former Vice President Hubert Humphrey and others, was using Donald Nixon to feed misinformation to his brother the President. Meier told Donald that he was sure the Democrats would win the election since they had a lot of information on Richard Nixon's illicit dealings with Howard Hughes which had never been released, and that Larry O'Brien had the information[5] (O'Brien didn't actually have any documents but Meier wanted Richard Nixon to think he did). Donald then called his brother and told him that Meier had given the Democrats all the Hughes information that could destroy him, and that O'Brien was also in possession of it.[6]

In 1973, financier Robert Vesco fled the United States hoping to avoid prosecution on charges of embezzlement. Shortly before his departure, in hopes of shutting off the United States Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into his activities, Vesco routed substantial political contributions to President Richard Nixon through the president's nephew, Donald Nixon Jr.

In 1974 the staff of the Senate Watergate committee disclosed additional information to support the charge that Charles Rebozo gave or lent part of a $100,000 campaign contribution to President Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, and to Nixon's brothers, Donald and Edward Nixon.[7]

Media portrayals

Donald Nixon was portrayed by Sean Stone in the 1995 Oliver Stone film, Nixon.

Death

On June 27, 1987, Donald Nixon died while undergoing hospital treatment for pneumonia. He was 72 years old.[8]

References

  1. ↑ ABC News. "Politics". ABC News.
  2. ↑ DuBois, Larry, and Laurence Gonzales (September 1976). The Puppet and the Puppetmasters. Playboy
  3. ↑ Stern, Carl (April 10, 1974). Vanderbilt Television News Archive: Howard Hughes Contribution / Kalmbach Version. NBC Evening News
  4. ↑ Haldeman, H.R. and Joseph Dimona (1978). The Ends of Power. Dell: ISBN 0-440-12239-2
  5. ↑ "Hughes Nixon and the C.I.A.", Playboy magazine, September 1976
  6. ↑ Age of Secrets: The Conspiracy that Toppled Richard Nixon and the Hidden Death of Howard Hughes written by Gerald Bellett, 1995, Voyageur North America, ISBN 0-921842-42-2
  7. ↑ Crewdson, John M. (July 11, 1974). Report Questions Rebozo's Account on Hughes Funds. New York Times
  8. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (June 30, 1987). "DONALD NIXON, 72, DIES IN CALIFORNIA". http://www.nytimes.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016. External link in |website= (help)

External links

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