General information

Gerald R. Ford
Gerald R. Ford
President order: 38
Republican
Born in Nebraska
Sworn in on 8/9/1974
Age at inauguration: 61
Less than 1 term


Biography

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977,
 and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person 
appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after the resignation of 
Spiro Agnew), when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he 
became the only President of the United States who was never elected President or Vice-President. 
Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as Representative from
 Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.

Early life:
Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., on July 14, 1913, at 3202 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, 
Nebraska, where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. His mother was Dorothy Ayer
 Gardner, and his father was Leslie Lynch King, Sr., a wool trader and son of prominent banker 
Charles Henry King and Martha King. Dorothy separated from King, just sixteen days after her 
son's birth. She took her son with her to the Oak Park, Illinois home of her sister Tannisse 
and brother-in-law, Clarence Haskins James. From there, she moved to the home of her parents, 
Levi Addison Gardner and Adele Augusta Ayer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dorothy and King divorced
 in December 1913, she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry
 King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930.

Marriage and family:
On October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Ford married Elizabeth Bloomer 
Warren, a department store fashion consultant. Warren had been a John Robert Powers fashion model 
and a dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the Martha Graham Dance Company. She had previously been 
married to and divorced from William G. Warren.

Presidential pets

Liberty at Gerald Ford's White House 
Gerald Ford's Golden Retriever Liberty was a frequent companion for the president in the Oval 
Office and at Camp David, where she'd occasionally take dip in the pool. 

In 1975, Liberty gave birth to a litter of puppies.

One story that President Ford would tell was about the time he took Liberty out for a late night
 walk around the White House grounds and found himself locked out of the mansion. The Secret 
Service had been unaware of the walk and had locked up the president's quarters for the evening.

Pets and Politics
In 1975, Liberty, who hailed from Minnesota, gave birth to eight pups, one of which became a guide 
dog for the blind.

Web

Gerald Ford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) 
was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_FordGerald Ford: Biography from Answers.com
Gerald Ford , U.S. President Born: 14 July 1913 Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska Died: 26 December 2006 
Best Known As: President of the United States,
www.answers.com/topic/gerald-fordGerald R. Ford
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States, from 1974-1977.
www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/geraldford