Former U.S. President-Gerald R. Ford Jr. died yesterday at age 93. The cause of death has not been confirmed.

Born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Nebraska, Ford grew up in Grand Rapids ^[1]with his mother and step-father, later changing his name to Gerald R. Ford Jr. (I had always thought he was adopted, but not so according to this article ^[2]).

Ford was a star football player for U of M and helped the team win national titles in 1932 and 1933. He turned down offers to play pro ball and attended Yale Law instead; he worked as an assistant coach at Yale while he studied.

He served in th Navy from 1942-1946 and in the House of Representatives for 25 years ^[3]. Ford was appointed Vice President in 1973 following Spiro Agnew’s ^[4] resignation, and became president in 1974 following Richard Nixon’s ^[5] resignation. He lost a rebid in 1976 to Jimmy Carter, which many speculate was a result of Ford pardoning Richard Nixon.

Gerald R. Ford Jr. was the longest-living president in United States history.