Leslie Lynch King Jr.

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (who was born Leslie Lynch King Jr.) served as the 40th Vice President of the United States from December 1973 to August 1974. On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned and after virtually unanimous Congressional support, Ford was nominated to take Agnew’s position – the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been implemented – and on November 27, 1973, the United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford as Vice President. When President Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford automatically assumed the presidency, making him the only person to become the nation’s President without previously having been voted into office either as President or Vice President. His Presidency, only 895 days long, is the shortest in U.S. history other than those who died in office.