Forty years ago on Aug. 9, 1974, Richard Nixon threw in the towel on a troubled presidency and resigned from office.

The only U.S. president to resign, Nixon was brought down by the giant Watergate scandal and other factors related to alleged criminal behavior and cover-ups.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library at Yorba Linda, California plans to mark the anniversary with the release of a large stash of video showing Nixon interviews.

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The tapes address his state of mind in the immediate run-up to his resignation. Clips are taken from 1983 interviews with the former president mainly discussing his last week in office. 

On the heels of a titantic constitutional struggle, Nixon read a 15-minute resignation address from the Oval Office, got on a helicopter and whisked out of Washington to his home in San Clemente, California.

Vice-President Gerald Ford was sworn in as 38th president the next day, serving out the final 895 days of Nixon's term. Ford later pardoned Nixon from any crimes he may have committed in office.

Criminal behavior was the rub indeed as a two-bit break-in at the swanky Watergate Hotel to raid offices of the Democratic Party National Committee went awry on June 17, 1972.  This led to allegations of cover-ups, missing White House tapes, constitutional and court battles, impeachment and ultimately resignation.

To say Nixon was an incredibly divisive and controversial figure is understatement as he went from middle-class Whittier, Calif. to Duke Law School and Congress where he was part of the group rooting out alleged communists from government.

As President Eisenhower's vice-president, he nearly was forced from the ticket for allegedly taking gifts from those seeking influence. He gave a famous speech referencing his wife Pat's cloth coat and a dog named "Checkers" and stayed on the ticket.

Ups and downs, twists and turns marked Nixon's fabled career. He narrowly lost the 1960 presidential race to John Kennedy.

He lost a 1962 California gubernatorial race and vowed to retire. He came back and won the 1968 presidential election as the Vietnam War tore the nation and the opposing Democratic Party apart.

The 1972 re-election campaign against George McGovern ended in a Nixon landslide. He won 49 states.

However, uneasiness in office and a failed break-in attempt at the Brookings Institution over the Pentagon papers that were only later revealed set the stage for Watergate.

Long story short, on the eve of impeachment papers being sent over to the U.S. Senate and near-certain conviction and removal from office, Nixon suddenly resigned, further shocking the nation.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

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