Application for Appointment
4/23/1937
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This is Richard Milhous Nixon's application to be a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Additional details from our exhibits and publications
Here we see Richard M. Nixon’s famous signature from a time when his future was unknown. Upon graduating from Duke Law School in 1937, Nixon submitted this application to be a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). After his interview with the FBI, he never received a response. Assuming he didn’t get the job, Nixon returned home to California, passed the bar, and began practicing law. It wasn’t until Nixon was Vice President of the United States that he learned what happened with his application. Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover told him that he had been accepted as a special agent, but that due to budget cuts, his appointment was held back.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
National Archives Identifier: 7857482
Full Citation: Application for Appointment; 4/23/1937; Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/application-for-appointment, October 4, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
