Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

#OTD 7/15/1972 – President Nixon attended a memorial service for his maternal aunt Edith Timberlake at the Acheson and Graham Funeral Home. Rev. Kenneth P. Hiller, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Riverside, officiated.

#OTD 7/14/1970 – President Nixon threw out two “first” baseballs, plus a few into the stands, while attending the annual All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Accompanying him were Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin, First Lady Pat Nixon, David and Julie Eisenhower, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dale (owner of the Cincinnati Reds), Joe Cronin of the American League, Charles "Chub" Feeney of the National League, and Congressman and Mrs. Robert J. Taft.

Also shown: Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver and New York Mets manager Gil Hodges.

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will be played tonight in Philadelphia!

#OTD 7/7/1971 – Searchlight on the move! President Nixon (Secret Service code name Searchlight) opted to drive his personal secretary Rose Mary Woods, valet Manolo Sanchez, and the family dogs in his golf cart from his Western White House office to the residence.

For more than 100 years, the Secret Service has used code names to refer to presidents and their family members. First Lady Pat Nixon was Starlight, Tricia Nixon Cox was Sugarfoot, Edward Cox was Seminole, Julie Nixon Eisenhower was Sunbonnet, and David Eisenhower was Sahara.

#OTD 7/2/1973 – On the lawn outside his Western White House office, President Nixon witnessed the swearing-in ceremony of Dr. James R. Schlesinger as Secretary of Defense.

Dr. Schlesinger previously served as Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1979, President Carter appointed him to the position of America's first Secretary of Energy.

#OTD 6/30/1974 – For several hours, President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev met alone and with advisors at Brezhnev’s dacha (vacation home) overlooking a Yalta public beach. In the afternoon, the Americans and Soviets took a two-hour cruise on a Soviet Navy yacht before retiring for the evening.

#OTD 6/29/1974 – President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev participated in a signing ceremony for a "Long Term Agreement Between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. to Facilitate Economic, Industrial, and Technical Cooperation."

After the signing, the American and Soviet delegations traveled by Ilyushin Il-62 "Soviet I" aircraft from Moscow to Simferopol Airport, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and then by motorcade to Brezhnev’s Black Sea vacation home, or dacha, in the Oreanda area of Yalta.

As part of our celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary, we have a added a new video to our ARTIFACTS OF AMERICA playlist on YouTube.

#OTD 6/18/1974 – Before the American delegation departed Jordan for the Azores, Portugal, First Lady Pat Nixon and Queen Alia Al Hussein visited the roman ruins at the Jerash Archeological Site located about 45km north of Amman, Jordan.

The ancient settlement, earlier known as Gerasa, is among the best preserved Greco-Roman provincial cities in the world. Sadly, in February 1977, Queen Alia died in a helicopter crash. She was 28 years old.

#OTD 6/16/1973 – While President and Mrs. Nixon spent the weekend at their home in Key Biscayne, Florida, preparations were underway at the White House for the upcoming State Dinner in honor of Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party.

Here we see a White House calligrapher using an oblique pen to hand letter place cards for the dinner.

#OTD 6/15/1973 – President and Mrs. Nixon traveled to Pekin, Illinois for the dedication ceremony of the Everett McKinley Dirksen Congressional Leadership Research Center. Senator Dirksen served in the United States Senate from 1951 until his death in September 1969. Prior to the Senate, he served in the United States House of Representatives during the years 1933-1949.