Richard Nixon Wanted To Join the FBI

Looking back, it's simple to picture Nixon's polite demeanor blending in with the stiff-necked G-men of J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). One of the interesting facts about Richard Nixon is when he, then barely 24 years old, applied to the Bureau in 1937, just over a month before finishing law school. Nixon awaited a response after the physical examination and in-person interview, but he never received one. Nixon was hired, but his appointment had been abruptly cancelled owing to budget cuts, which was revealed to him later when Nixon was vice president and asked why he had not been accepted.

After his return to California, he was admitted to the California bar in 1937 and started working for Wingert and Bewley in Whittier. His practice was mostly focused on wills, business lawsuits for regional oil firms, and other corporate issues. Given his dislike of open sexual discussion from women, Nixon was hesitant to work in divorce cases. He established his own Wingert and Bewley office in La Habra, California, in 1938. The following year, he was made a full partner in the business. Nixon later boasted that he was the first president in the modern era to have previously worked as a practicing lawyer.