A man known for honor, the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Rudolph Ford (1913–2006) was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on this day in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother later remarried and renamed him after his stepfather.

“My stepfather was a magnificent person,” Ford remembered. “And my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing.”

Self-described as “disgustingly sane,” Ford was an Eagle Scout and natural athlete who received offers to play pro football with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. He built a reputation as a good-humored, honest man who approached life with good nature and optimism.

Ford served twelve terms in the House of Representatives and became minority leader before being appointed vice president by Richard Nixon in 1973. Just eight months later, he became president after Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

“I was dumbfounded by the stupidity of the Watergate break-in,” Ford admitted.

As president, he made history as the first to visit Japan while in office and negotiated an arms agreement with the Soviet Union. “Indecision is often worse than wrong action,” he once said.

His most controversial act of pardoning Nixon may have cost him re-election. Still, Ford stood by his decision. “Our long national nightmare is over,” he declared, later adding, “I remain convinced that pardoning Nixon was the right thing to do.”

The steady strength of Gerald Ford reminds us that some measures of success can’t be counted, but must be lived. He rose to meet a moment of national need, not by chasing power, but by carrying responsibility with a quiet and enduring sense of honor.