The first U.S. president to resign, Richard Nixon refused to admit guilt, even though tapes of his conversations indicated that he had obstructed justice, abused his power, and lied. In the decades after his resignation, he gradually rehabilitated his reputation and became an elder statesman. Here, he and his wife, Pat, are escorted by his successor, Gerald Ford, and his wife, Betty, as they leave the White House. © Bettmann/Corbis.