On April 27, 1994, five presidents and five first ladies came to Yorba Linda to attend the funeral of our 37th president Richard Nixon.

On April 22, 1994 Richard Nixon, died after suffering a significant stroke at his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey. He was 81. It was 10 months after his wife Pat died June 22, 1993.

Nixon’s body was flown on Air Force One to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and then transported to the Nixon Library.

He was the first former president to die in 21 years since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973, while Nixon was president.

The funeral was attended by 4,000 people and dignitaries from 85 countries. There are estimates that 40,000 tried to attend. It was the first time that five U.S. presidents and their first ladies attended the funeral of another president.

Eulogies were delivered by Rev. Billy Graham, Henry Kissinger, Sen. Bob Dole, California Gov. Pete Wilson and then-President Bill Clinton.

Graham said, “The world has lost a great citizen, America has lost a great statesman, and those of us who knew him have lost a personal friend. His public service kept him at the center of the events that have shaped our destiny.”

It was the last formal appearance by former President Ronald Reagan who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease later that year. Reagan was the next president to die, on June 5, 2004.

You can learn more at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda.

Main Line: 714-983-9120

Research: 714-983-9320

Museum Hours

Monday – Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Research Hours

Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

All photos are courtesy of the Richard Nixon Foundation.

You can see a Nixon Foundation video about the service on YouTube here.