Agnew, Spiro T. (Spiro Theodore), 1918-1996

<p>Spiro Theodore Agnew (/ˈspɪroʊ ˈæɡnjuː/; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second and most recent vice president to resign the position, the other being John C. Calhoun in 1832. Unlike Calhoun, Agnew resigned as a result of a scandal.</p>

<p>Agnew was born in Baltimore to an American-born mother and a Greek immigrant father. He attended Johns Hopkins University, and graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He worked as an aide to U.S. Representative James Devereux before he was appointed to the Baltimore County Board of Zoning Appeals in 1957. In 1962, he was elected Baltimore County Executive. In 1966, Agnew was elected Governor of Maryland, defeating his Democratic opponent George P. Mahoney and independent candidate Hyman A. Pressman.</p>

<p>At the 1968 Republican National Convention, Richard Nixon asked Agnew to place his name in nomination, and named him as running mate. Agnew's centrist reputation interested Nixon; the law and order stance he had taken in the wake of civil unrest that year appealed to aides such as Pat Buchanan. Agnew made a number of gaffes during the campaign, but his rhetoric pleased many Republicans, and he may have made the difference in several key states. Nixon and Agnew defeated the Democratic ticket of incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey and his running mate, Senator Edmund Muskie. As vice president, Agnew was often called upon to attack the administration's enemies. In the years of his vice presidency, Agnew moved to the right, appealing to conservatives who were suspicious of moderate stances taken by Nixon. In the presidential election of 1972, Nixon and Agnew were re-elected for a second term, defeating Senator George McGovern and his running mate Sargent Shriver.</p>

<p>In 1973, Agnew was investigated by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud. Agnew took kickbacks from contractors during his time as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland. The payments had continued into his time as vice president; they had nothing to do with the Watergate scandal, in which he was not implicated. After months of maintaining his innocence, Agnew pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion and resigned from office. Nixon replaced him with House Republican leader Gerald Ford. Agnew spent the remainder of his life quietly, rarely making public appearances.</p>

AGNEW, SPIRO THEODORE, Vice President of the United States; born in Baltimore, Md., November 9, 1918; educated in the public schools of Baltimore; attended the Johns Hopkins University; graduated from the University of Baltimore Law School 1947; served in the United States Army during the Second World War and the Korean conflict; practiced law in Baltimore; elected county executive of Baltimore County 1962; elected Governor of Maryland 1966; elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Richard M. Nixon on November 5, 1968; resigned as Governor of Maryland on January 7, 1969; inaugurated 39th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 1969; reelected Vice President, November 7, 1972; charged with accepting bribes and falsifying federal tax returns, pleaded nolo contendere to the latter charge in federal court, and resigned October 10, 1973; international trade executive; was a resident of Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Ocean City, Md.; died September 17, 1996, in Ocean City; cremated, ashes interred at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, Timonium, Md.