Gerald Ford

Ford, Gerald R(udolph) (1913- ), 38th president of the United States (1974-77), the only president elected neither to the presidency nor to the vice-presidency. He attempted during his 21-year term to restore the nation's confidence in a government tarnished by the Watergate scandal.

Ford, whose original name was Leslie King, was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents were divorced, and his mother, Dorothy Gardner moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she married Gerald R. Ford, who adopted her son and changed his name to Gerald R. Ford, Jr.

Ford entered the University of Michigan in 1931; he played varsity football on the undefeated 1932 and 1933 teams and was named the most valuable player in 1934. He attended Yale Law School from 1935 to 1941.

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