Politicians are required to perform many unusual tasks, such as petting a circus lion, as Vice President Richard Nixon did during a 1950s “photo op.” Nixon served as a U.S. senator from 1950 to 1953. As vice president from 1953 to 1961, he served as the constitutional President of the Senate. While presiding over the Senate in 1954, Nixon witnessed the crumbling of the Senate's historic ivory gavel.
