Gerald Rudolph Ford, who died on Tuesday at the age of 93, may not have been the first American to have the presidency thrust upon him by act of man or god. But he was the first to become president without ever having actively sought the office in a long career in politics.

The twin circumstances of his accession were his 1973 appointment, under the 25th amendment to the constitution, to succeed Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had resigned in disgrace; his elevation to the Oval Office occurred a year later, on August 8, 1974, when Richard Nixon also resigned in the face of impeachment for Watergate offences.