Washington ? Watergate was a defining moment in the careers of many people inside and outside of government. Here is a look at some of the more prominent figures involved in the scandal:

Richard M. Nixon, the 37th U.S. president who resigned before the House of Representatives could vote on articles of impeachment. Famous for his foreign policy achievements, he incriminated himself by ordering a cover-up of the Watergate burglary. He died in 1994 at age 81.

Gerald Ford assumed the presidency after Nixon’s resignation and soon thereafter extended a full pardon to Nixon for any crimes he may have committed. Still active in public life, Ford has homes is Colorado and California.

Bob Woodward, one of America’s foremost investigative journalists who still works for The Washington Post as assistant managing editor and reporter in the investigative unit. He was responsible for coverage of the Watergate scandal and the president’s resignation.

Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward’s partner at The Washington Post in the early ’70s, was also instrumental in breaking the Watergate story. Today he works as the executive editor and vice president of Voter.com, a Web site that collects political information.

Charles Colson was a special counsel to the president and set up the White House secret “plumbers” team. He served 207 days for obstruction of justice. Today he is working on support of the “Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2002.”

H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were two of Nixon’s closest aides who resigned soon after the scandal was beyond White House control. Haldeman died at age 67 in 1993. Ehrlichman died at age 73 in 1999.

Judge John Sirica was the hard-hitting judge who pushed to ensure that the full story of the break-in was revealed and disallowed Nixon to withhold the Watergate tapes. He died at age 88 in 1992.

Sam Ervin, D-N.C., and Howard Baker, R-Tenn., headed the Select Watergate Committee. Baker is known for asking: “What did the president know and when did he know it?” Sam Ervin died at age 88 in 1985. Howard Baker is President Bush’s ambassador to Japan.

John Dean, White House counsel, warned Nixon “a cancer was growing on the presidency.” He works as a writer and recently sold his screenplay, “The Pentagon Papers.”