So, what did happen when Nixon died?

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

Call me totally out of touch with reality, but I didn’t know Richard Nixon was dead. Seriously. I managed to miss it for nine years. Found out today.

Anyway, this made me remember an old column of Cecil’s in which he is asked what will happen when Nixon dies. Will there be a day of mourning, flag on half-pole, etc. Cecil said something to the effect of that this was up to the president in charge when Nixon died, and that he may well declare a day of embarrassed hemming and hawing.

I can’t find the column, it seems to have been eaten by the Men In Black. Even the Wayback Machine doesn’t have it.

Anyway, what did happen when Nixon bought it? What did Clinton do?

2

From Martin Weil and Eleanor Randolph, “Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, Dies,” Washington Post, 23 Apr. 1994, A01:

More in the thread Why was Nixon honored with US flags at half mast when he died?

3

Well, I got the day off when they had his funeral.

4

I didn’t get the day off, but I remember photos of the funeral, with a rather impressive display of former presidents in attendance.

Amazingly, while Nixon still lived there were six living current/former presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Regan, Bush and Clinton. I doubt that has ever happened before. They all attended the funeral.

5

Of course, one of them didn’t exactly have much choice in the matter.

And I think you may be right about the historic first: Remember that Reagan was the president who broke the supposed “Tecumseh curse”: It isn’t too uncommon for a president to die in office.

6

You’re right, Sparteye (and Chronos), it never had happened before:

Thomas F. Schaller, “I Will Survive: Bill Clinton and other still-rockin’ ex-presidents,” The American Prospect.

7

“To the dismay of those that stood by, about the body…a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire, as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a momont it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a sigh dissolved into nothing.”

8

I wanna spellcheck, dammit! :wink:

9

I agrea!

10

Isn’t that what the EDIT button is for?

11

Hold up. That says that it did happen before, with Lincoln’s inaugaration, and the almanac seems to bear that out. Lincoln was inaugarated with Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Tyler and Van Buren still alive.

12

Nixon, by surviving 20 years after his ignoble resignation, managed to play on the incredible ability of Americans to forget the past. He was a past president, so give him all honour and glory, and forget that he wrecked the office for all his successors, that he left a legacy of complete mistrust in government.

Thanks, Oxy, for the laugh du jour.

13

Ex-Presidents:

March 4, 1797-Dec. 14, 1799: Washington
Dec. 15, 1799-March 3, 1801: none
March 4, 1801-March 3, 1809: Adams
March 4, 1809-March 3, 1817: Adams, Jefferson
March 4, 1817-March 3, 1825: Adams, Jefferson, Madison
March 4, 1825-July 4, 1826: Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe
July 5, 1826-March 3, 1829: Madison, Monroe
March 4, 1829-July 4, 1831: Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams
July 5, 1831-June 28, 1836: Madison, JQ Adams
June 28, 1836-March 3, 1837: JQ Adams
March 4, 1837-March 3, 1841: JQ Adams, Jackson
March 4, 1841-March 3, 1845: JQ Adams, Jackson, Van Buren
March 3-June 8, 1845: JQ Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler
June 9, 1845-Feb. 23, 1848: JQ Adams, Van Buren, Tyler
Feb. 24, 1848-March 3, 1849: Van Buren, Tyler
March 4-June 15, 1849: Van Buren, Tyler, Polk
June 16, 1849-March 3, 1853: Van Buren, Tyler
March 4, 1853-March 3, 1857: Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore
March 4, 1857-March 3, 1861: Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce
March 3, 1861-Jan, 18, 1862: Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan
Jan. 19-July 24, 1862: Van Buren, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan
July 25, 1862-June 1, 1868: Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan
June 2, 1868-March 3, 1869: Fillmore, Pierce
March 4-Oct. 8, 1869: Fillmore, Pierce, A Johnson
Oct. 9, 1869-March 8, 1874: Fillmore, A Johnson
March 8, 1874-July 31, 1875: A Johnson
July 31, 1875-March 3, 1877: none
March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881: Grant
March 4, 1881-March 3, 1885: Grant, Hayes
March 4-July 23, 1885: Grant, Hayes, Arthur
July 24, 1885-Nov. 18, 1886: Hayes, Arthur
Nov. 19, 1886-March 3, 1889: Hayes
March 4, 1889-Jan. 19, 1893: Hayes, Cleveland
Jan. 19-March 3, 1893: Cleveland (interestingly, the only living ex-President was also President-Elect during these six weeks!)
March 4, 1893-March 3, 1897: Harrison
March 4, 1897-March 13, 1901: Cleveland, Harrison
March 14, 1901-June 24, 1908: Cleveland
June 24, 1908-March 3, 1909: none
March 4, 1909-March 3, 1913: T Roosevelt
March 4, 1913-Jan. 6, 1919: T Roosevelt, Taft
Jan. 7, 1919-March 3, 1921: Taft
March 4, 1921-Feb. 3, 1924: Taft, Wilson
Feb. 4, 1924-March 3, 1929: Taft
March 4, 1929-March 8, 1930: Taft, Coolidge
March 9, 1930-Jan. 5, 1933: Coolidge
Jan. 6-March 3, 1933: none
March 4, 1933-Jan. 20, 1953: Hoover
Jan. 21, 1953-Jan. 20, 1961: Hoover, Truman
Jan. 21, 1961-Oct. 20, 1964: Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower
Oct. 21, 1964-Jan. 20, 1969: Truman, Eisenhower
Jan. 20-March 28, 1969: Truman, Eisenhower, LB Johnson
March 29, 1969-Dec. 26, 1972: Truman, LB Johnson
Dec. 26, 1972-Jan. 22, 1973: LB Johnson
Jan. 22, 1973-Aug. 9, 1974: none
Aug. 10, 1974-Jan. 20, 1977: Nixon
Jan. 21, 1977-Jan. 20, 1981: Nixon, Ford
Jan. 21, 1891-Jan. 20, 1989: Nixon, Ford, Carter
Jan. 21, 1989-Jan. 20, 1993: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan
Jan. 21, 1993-Apr. 22, 1994: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush
Aug. 22, 1994-Jan. 20, 2001: Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush
Jan. 21, 2001-present: Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton

14

I’d forgotten this. So, Nixon had no peer, at the time. Interesting.

15

D’oh! :smack: I just realized what I wrote and you’re right, RM Mentock, it had happened before that there were six living presidents (as my own cite says). What had not happened before (and what I meant to write) was that five presidents had never before assembled in one place until Nixon’s funeral.