Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon (March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and thus First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974.Born in Ely, Nevada, she grew up with her two brothers in what is now Cerritos, California, graduating from high school in 1929. She attended Fullerton Junior College and later the University of Southern California. She paid for her schooling by working multiple jobs, including pharmacy manager, typist, X-ray technician, and retail clerk. In 1940, she married lawyer Richard Nixon and they had two daughters. She campaigned for her husband in his successful congressional campaigns of 1946 and 1948. Richard Nixon was elected Vice President in the Eisenhower administration, whereupon Pat undertook many missions of goodwill with her husband and gained favorable media coverage. She assisted her husband in both his unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign and later in his successful presidential campaign of 1968.As First Lady, Pat Nixon promoted a number of charitable causes, including volunteerism. She oversaw the collection of more than 600 pieces of historic art and furnishings for the White House, an acquisition larger than that of any other administration. She was the most traveled First Lady in U.S. history, a record unsurpassed until twenty-five years later. She accompanied the President as the first First Lady to visit China and the Soviet Union and her solo trips to Africa and South America gained her recognition as "Madame Ambassador"; she was the first First Lady to enter a combat zone as well. These trips gained her favorable reception in the media and the host countries. Her tenure ended when, after being re-elected in a landslide victory in 1972, President Nixon resigned two years later amid the Watergate scandal.Her public appearances became increasingly rare later in life. She and her husband returned to California, and later moved to New Jersey. She suffered two strokes, one in 1976 and another in 1983, then was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992. She died in 1993, aged 81.
Fullerton College, University of Southern California
Nationality
American
Spouse
Presidency of Richard Nixon
Children
Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Parents
William Ryan, Sr. and Katherine Halberstadt
Siblings
William M. Ryan Jr., Matthew Bender, Neva Bender, Thomas Ryan
Movies
Dancing Pirate
Star Sign
Pisces
#
Quote
1
I have sacrificed everything in my life that I consider precious in order to advance the political career of my husband.
#
Fact
1
Attended Fullerton Junior College, 1931-1933.
2
Shares her name with a character in Tom Clancy's novel. Jack Ryan's wife is named Catherine Ryan. Appropriately, she too becomes First Lady of the United States.
3
Her father, William M. Ryan, Sr., was a sailor, gold miner, and truck farmer of Irish descent. Her mother, Katherine Halberstadt, was a German immigrant. She had two older brothers, William M. Jr. (1910-1997) and Thomas (1911-1992), and also had a half-sister, Neva Bender (born 1909), and a half-brother, Matthew Bender (born 1907), from her mother's first marriage.
4
Pat was a nickname given her by her father, referring to her birth date and Irish ancestry, though she also used the name Patricia, which is used on her tombstone though it was not her legal name.
5
Suffered strokes in 1976 and 1982 and recovered fully from both. She also suffered from emphysema (she had been a heavy smoker), a degenerative spinal disease and cancer of the mouth. In December 1992, while hospitalized for respiratory problems, the lung cancer was diagnosed and she made no further public appearances.
6
First lady of the United States (1969-1974).
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Dancing Pirate
1936
Dance-Class Student (uncredited)
Small Town Girl
1936
Thelma 'Pat' Ryan (uncredited)
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Becky Sharp
1935
Ballroom Dance Extra (uncredited)
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
America's Book of Secrets
2013
TV Series documentary
Herself
Biography
2001
TV Series documentary
Herself
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Ford
1973
TV Special documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Laugh-In
1969
TV Series
Herself
The Jack Paar Tonight Show
1960
TV Series
Herself
Gala Day at Disneyland
1960
Short
Herself
Disneyland '59
1959
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Checkers Speech
1952
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match
2016
TV Movie documentary
Herself (uncredited)
How to Win the US Presidency
2016
Documentary
Herself
Race for the White House
2016
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself
The Sixties
2014
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself - First Lady
The Presidents' Gatekeepers
2013
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Our Nixon
2013
Documentary
Herself
America's Book of Secrets
2012
TV Series documentary
Herself
J. Edgar
2011
Herself (uncredited)
20/20
2011
TV Series documentary
Herself
The Kennedys
2011
TV Mini-Series
Herself
Hubert H Humphrey: The Art of the Possible
2010
TV Movie documentary
Herself - First Lady of the United States
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
2010
Documentary
Herself (as Patricia Nixon)
The Nixon Library
2009
Video documentary short
Herself
All the Presidents' Wives
2008
Video documentary
Herself
Banda sonora
2008
TV Series
Herself
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
2008
Documentary
Herself - 1972 Convention (uncredited)
Disneyland: Secrets, Stories, & Magic
2007
Video documentary
Herself - the Richard Nixon Family (uncredited)
1968 with Tom Brokaw
2007
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Mad Men
2007
TV Series
Herself
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
2006
Documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Wanderlust
2006
TV Movie documentary
Herself
The Delegate
2006
Documentary short
Herself
Declassified
2006
TV Series documentary
Herself
Inside Deep Throat
2005
Documentary
Herself - First Lady of the United States (uncredited)
War Stories with Oliver North
2004
TV Series documentary
Herself
American Experience
2004
TV Series documentary
Herself
Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
2004
Documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Power and Beauty
2002
TV Movie
Herself (uncredited)
K-19: The Widowmaker
2002
Herself (with Richard) (uncredited)
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
2002
Documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
2000
TV Movie documentary
Herself (uncredited)
The X-Files
2000
TV Series
Herself
Steal This Movie
2000
Herself (at her husband's inauguration) (uncredited)
The Korean War: Fire and Ice
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself (at Republican convention with Ike and Dick) (uncredited)
The Century: America's Time
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself - First Lady
Biography
1996-1998
TV Series documentary
Herself / Herself - as First Lady Pat Nixon
Cold War
1998
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself
Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters
1997
TV Movie documentary
Herself
The White House
1996
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Inside the White House
1995
TV Movie documentary
Herself
The Speeches of Richard Nixon
1995
Video documentary
Herself - Votes in 1960 Election, Awaits Results
Nixon
1995
Herself - Leaving White House after Resignation (uncredited)
Truman
1995
TV Movie
Herself - Eisenhower Inauguration (uncredited)
The Century of Warfare
1994
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself
Watergate
1994
TV Mini-Series documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Stalking the President: A History of American Assassins
1992
Documentary
Herself - Leaves White House After Resignation
Citizen Cohn
1992
TV Movie
Herself (uncredited)
Memories of 1970-1991
1991
TV Series documentary
Herself
JFK
1991
Herself - with Richard Nixon (uncredited)
Dark Days at the White House: The Watergate Scandal and the Resignation of President Richard M. Nixon