Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until 1974. As the nation's 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961, he came to national prominence as a representative and senator from California. After five years in the White House that saw the conclusion to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, he became the only president to resign from the office.