On this day in 1974, Richard Nixon became the first and last president to resign from office. “There is one cause above all to which I have been devoted and to which I shall always be devoted for as long as I live,” he told the nation. “When I first took the oath of office as President 5½ years ago, I made this sacred commitment, to ‘consecrate my office, my energies, and all the wisdom I can summon to the cause of peace among nations.’ I have done my very best in all the days since to be true to that pledge.” Thus, for old times’ sake, President Nixon managed to get in one more lie before he left office.