Nixon, Pat Ireland, 1883-1965

Pat Ireland Nixon was born in Old Nixon, Texas, on November 29, 1883 to Robert Thomas and Fannie (Andrews) Nixon. He graduated from Luling High School in 1900, the Bingham School in Ashville, North Carolina in 1902, the University of Texas in 1905, and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1909. Nixon married Olive Gray Read in 1912, and they had four sons.

Nixon opened his medical practice in San Antonio in 1911, and served patients in the city for more than fifty years. Nixon was an active member of the San Antonio community, serving on the San Antonio Board of Health, as president of the Bexar County Medical Association, and an active member of Laurel Heights Methodist Church. He was a frequent speaker for various San Antonio organizations. Nixon received an honorary doctorate from Trinity University in 1963.

In addition to his medical and community work, Nixon was an avid amateur historian. He authored five books: <i>A Century of Medicine in San Antonio</i> (1936), <i>The Medical Story of Early Texas</i> (1946), <i>A History of the Texas Medical Association</i> (1953), <i>The Early Nixons of Texas</i> (1956), and posthumously <i>Pat Nixon of Texas: Autobiography of a Doctor</i> (1979). He wrote numerous articles and essays as well. Nixon served as president of the San Antonio Historical Association, Texas State Historical Association, and the Philosophical Society of Texas, and received the Summerfield G. Roberts Award for best work on Texas history.

Nixon died on November 18, 1965.

Created by Colleen Hoelscher, August 2024.

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/nixon-pat-ireland