Gerald Ford succeeded to office.
Gerald Rudolph Ford , Jr. ( born Leslie Lynch King , Jr. ; July 14 , 1913 -- December 26 , 2006 ) was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977 , following the resignation of Richard Nixon . He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment , and consequently the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to executive office . In the Republican presidential primary campaign of 1976 , Ford defeated former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination . He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger , former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter , making him the first President who succeeded to office as a result of a mid-term vacancy since Chester A. Arthur not to be elected in his own right . Ford lived longer than any other U.S. president -- 93 years and 165 days -- while his 895-day presidency was the shortest of all presidents who did not die in office .