Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States, serving from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977.[1] He remains the only U.S. president who was never elected to either the presidency or vice presidency, having assumed office following Richard Nixon's resignation during the Watergate scandal.[1][5] Born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, Ford earned a degree from the University of Michigan in 1935, where he was a standout football player, and later obtained a law degree from Yale University in 1941.[1] During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander and serving aboard the USS Monterey in the South Pacific.[2] He nearly lost his life during a typhoon in December 1944 and received multiple military decorations, including the American Campaign Medal and the Asiatic-American Campaign Medal with silver and bronze stars.[2] Ford entered electoral politics in 1948, winning a congressional seat from Michigan as a Republican.[1] He served 25 years in the House of Representatives, being reelected twelve times with over 60% of the vote.[4] He rose to prominence as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and its Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, becoming ranking minority member in 1961.[3] In 1963, President Johnson appointed him to the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy's assassination.[3] Ford described himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy."[3] When Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned, Nixon appointed Ford as the first vice president under the Twenty-fifth Amendment.[6] Following Nixon's resignation on August 8, 1974, Ford became president the next day.[4] During his presidency, he focused on combating inflation, reviving the economy, addressing energy shortages, and strengthening U.S. global relationships.[6] He also announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War draft evaders and deserters, and controversially pardoned former President Nixon on September 8, 1974.[1] Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter in one of the closest contests in U.S. history.[7] He died on December 26, 2006, at age 93, having become the longest-living U.S. president.[7]