The following is a timeline of the presidency of Richard Nixon from his inauguration as the 37th president of the United States on January 20, 1969, to December 31, 1969.
January January 20 – Richard Nixon's presidency begins with his inauguration at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.; the oath of office is administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren. President Nixon declared in his inaugural address, "The greatest honor that history can bestow is the title of peacemaker." The Nixon Administration initiates Détente. January 21 – President Nixon states his intent to wake early and sleep late to a group of campaign workers. Nixon attends a ceremony for the swearing in of 81 White House staff members. January 22 – George W. Romney resigns as Governor of Michigan to be sworn in as the 3rd Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. January 28 – President Nixon speaks to members of the House rules committee and House leadership during a luncheon. January 31 – President Nixon visits an African-American neighborhood without announcement in Washington in the morning hours, traveling there for the purpose of witnessing a vest pocket park and playground under Romney's suggestion.
February February 2 – White House Urban Affairs Advisor Daniel Patrick Moynihan says solving problems in American cities will require "cold cash", suggesting a federal finance program for allowances of families and children. February 3 – The White House announces President Nixon's intent to visit numerous western European countries in the next two months. February 5 – President Nixon gives authorization to a ceiling raise on the National Science Foundation's expenditures by 10 million at multiple universities to help research among hardships caused by limitations in spending. February 6 – President Nixon says he wants promises from American commanders prior to agreement with South Vietnam leader Nguyen Van Thieu troop withdraw in Vietnam. February 8 – President Nixon directs Lee DuBridge for national space program examination and afterward have a possible cost reduction follow up report. February 10 – Ronald Ziegler says President Nixon will travel to West Berlin despite plans by East Germany to limit routes to the city on land due to the upcoming West German presidential election. President Nixon holds a White House state dining room dinner honoring Robert Menzies while he is visiting in Washington. February 11 – President Nixon blames the previous administration under former President Lyndon B. Johnson for allowing off shore drilling which caused the previous weeks' oil spillage in Santa Clara, California, at the same time announcing his directing of Lee DuBridge to bring about a group of scientists and engineers to form a plan on taking the most effective use of the federal government in cleaning the shoreline California and preventing such a pollution disaster from another occurrence. February 13 – President Nixon promises the federal government's aid in American city problems though insists assistance from the local government is the common problem solver for inner city issues during a ceremony at the White House for the swearing in of Walter Washington as Mayor of the District of Columbia. February 15 – Following rejecting a request by President Nixon to work full-time, part-time consultant to the president on consumer affairs Willie Mae Rogers quits. February 19 – In the night hours it is discovered that President Nixon will spend the most time with France's Charles de Gaulle of the five country leaders he will be meeting the following week.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: February 22 – Secretary of the Treasury Kennedy denies his remarks from a week prior have caused the market drop during an interview. February 24 – President Nixon announces the development of negotiations with the Soviet Union and the US's full cooperation with European allies during a speech to NATO. February 27 – President Nixon pledges allied safeguarding of Berlin will remain while touring West Berlin. February 28 – President Nixon and President of France Charles de Gaulle conduct a meeting on American-French relations in Paris.
March March 1 – Nixon concludes his discussions with de Gaulle and a spokesman for the latter says the meeting resulted in "very good results for relations between our two countries". March 2 – President Nixon returns to the US at Andrews Air Force Base during the evening. March 9 – President Nixon holds a two-hour meeting with White House aides on the subject of antiballistic missile system deployment at his beachfront villa in Key Biscayne, Florida. March 16 – President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon attend a White House gathering of 350 dignitaries and friends. Secretary of Commerce Stans states the possibility of having the Nixon administration halt price increases of excessive quality that could harm the American economy during an appearance on Face the Nation. March 19 – Secretary of Defense Laird says that he is not aware of a plan to reduce American troops from within South Vietnam while speaking to the Senate Armed Forces Committee. March 20 – Secretary of Defense Laird states the Nixon administration's modified Sentinel antiballistic missile system will defend the US "because it protects our deterrent." March 25 – In a meeting with Republican leaders, President Nixon promises to ask for an extension by one year of the tax surcharge by 10% and excise taxes on automobiles and communication during the following day. President Nixon says the progression toward peace in South Vietnam is held in the hands of private conversation during a National Association of Broadcasters luncheon. March 26 – President Nixon keeps his promise from the previous day and asks Congress for a year long 10% surtax and vows he will make major federal spending cuts to double the surplus of the budget. March 28 – Former President Dwight Eisenhower dies.
April April 1 – Secretary of Defense Laird says South Vietnam will see a reduction in the number of B-52 bomber sorties. April 2 – President Nixon is joined by former President Johnson in attending the burial of former President Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas. April 3 – Secretary of Defense Laird says peace negotiations connected to Vietnam but from "outside" are proceeding and "signs of progress" have occurred. April 4 – On the first anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., while on his way to a meeting in Florida, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Finch has a 45-minute conversation with King's widow, Coretta Scott King, in her home in Atlanta, Georgia at the request of President Nixon. April 7 – Secretary of State Rogers states the Nixon administration wants a troop withdrawal on both sides ahead of the end of the year during his first press conference. April 8 – President Nixon issues a statement declaring his intent to use over 200 million in rebuilding riot torn cities. April 28 – President Nixon sends a message to Congress for the creation of representation of the District of Columbia within the federal government. President Nixon says a candidate's views on the antiballistic missile program would not be a factor in being confirmed for the position of Director of the National Science Foundation. President Nixon telephones the attendees of the champagne breakfast celebrating the debuting daily newspaper Chicago Today. President Nixon sends a letter to Charles de Gaulle addressing his resignation as President of France praising his tenure. April 29 – President Nixon encourages university administrators to stand up against protestors who engage in lawless dissent on campuses. President Nixon plays piano for the 70th birthday celebration of Duke Ellington at the White House.
May May 2 – President Nixon asks Congress to allow three new legislative measures for the suppression of what the president claims is a record flooding of sexual content in mail to US homes. President Nixon sends a special message to Congress regarding obscene and pornographic materials. May 3 – President Nixon visits former Governor of South Carolina James F. Byrnes to congratulate him on being married for 60 years and turning 90 years old. White House sources say President Nixon would be willing to accept a private joint troop removal from Vietnam deal with Hanoi in the event that definite safeguards are imposed to ensure the pact would not be violated. May 4 – Secretary of Transportation Volpe rebukes students carrying firearms during a speech to thousands celebrating Polish Constitution Day. May 27 – President Nixon announces his choice of Charles A. Bane for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. May 28 – President Nixon requests of Congress the approval of a 2.6 billion foreign aid program channeling more private enterprise to overseas and focusing on technical help. May 31 – President Nixon has a meeting with Secretary of State Rogers on peace in Vietnam. Press aid Ronald Ziegler says the position of support for President Nixon's eight-point peace plan by Nguyen Van Thieu had not changed. After the meeting, the president and secretary of state join the Nixon family in a trip to the Bahamas.
June June 1 – President Nixon returns to Washington in the night hours. June 2 – Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey defends President Nixon against critics of his methods to end the war, saying he believes Nixon "wants peace and I think he's trying to find it." President Nixon meets with Minister for Foreign Affairs Kiichi Aichi for a non-formal talk particularly in regards to Okinawa and issues of trade. The White House says the meeting is meant to serve as a preliminary for the upcoming meeting between President Nixon and Eisaku Satō. June 3 – President Nixon appears on the campus of General Beadle State College while there to dedicate a library housing the papers of Senator Karl Mundt, saying the US has the power to crush revolutionaries, who he defines as youngsters choosing to not partake in the process giving continuity to civilization. June 5 – Secretary of State Rogers holds a news conference where he asserts the South Vietnamese armed forces are willing and able to take more responsibilities in Vietnam. Nixon announces his choice of Donald Johnson as the new head of the Veterans administration, introducing him in front of the Newporter inn's temporary office close to Newport Beach. June 6 – President Nixon orders $500,000 to the state of Illinois after damages caused to the state by a spring flood. June 8 – President Nixon meets with President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu at the Midway Island, during which President Nixon announces a scheduled withdrawal of 25,000 at the end of August. June 10 – President Nixon says North Vietnam will be the reason for a failing of peace if it continues to not act toward reciprocal moves in favor of ending conflict during an appearance on the South Lawn. Secretary of the Treasury Kennedy says the US is close to runaway inflation during a press conference. Deputy Defense Secretary Packard announces the cancellation of the manned orbiting laboratory (MOL) program. June 13 – The Department of Defense announces the 900 man battalion will be the first American unit brought back from Vietnam. June 28 – The White House announces President Nixon's plan to attend the Apollo 11 splashdown and subsequently travel to five Asian countries alongside communist Romania in an attempt to form a new US policy in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War concludes. June 29 – CBS Radio states Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Finch intends to notifying the American Medical Association of plans by the Nixon administration on limiting doctors' fees in Medicaid aid cases the following day.
July