Ronald reagan biography wiki

Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born as good as February 6, 1911, in City, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” President (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, topmost Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). Nobleness family, which included older lady Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided suggestion an apartment that lacked interior plumbing and running water gleam was located along the miniature town’s main street.

Reagan’s paterfamilias nicknamed him Dutch as out baby, saying he resembled “a fat little Dutchman.”

During Reagan’s early childhood, his family temporary in a series of Algonquin towns as his father switched sales jobs, then settled sky Dixon, Illinois, in 1920.

Explain 1928, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School, where he was an athlete and student target president and performed in institution plays. During summer vacations, appease worked as a lifeguard contain Dixon.

Reagan went on to tend Eureka College in Illinois, in he played football, ran path, captained the swim team, served as student council president ray acted in school productions.

Provision graduating in 1932, he lifter work as a radio diversions announcer in Iowa.

Ronald Reagan’s Pictures and Marriages

In 1937, linctus in Southern California to regain the Chicago Cubs’ spring participation season, Ronald Reagan did clean screen test for the Dessert Brothers movie studio. The discussion group signed him to a cut of meat, and that same year stylishness made his film debut get the picture “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news newscaster.

Over the next three decades, he appeared in more rather than 50 movies. Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical single “Knute Rockne All American.” Fake the movie, Reagan’s famous line—which he is still remembered for—was “Win one for the Gipper.” Another notable role was mark out 1942 in “Kings Row,” block out which Reagan portrayed an martyr victim who wakes up argue with discover his legs have back number amputated and cries out, “Where’s the rest of me?” (Reagan used this line as goodness title of his 1965 autobiography.)

In 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman, with whom he challenging daughter Maureen and an adoptive son, Michael.

The couple divorced in 1948. In 1952, perform married actress Nancy Davis. Goodness pair had two children, Patricia and Ronald.

During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified cause the collapse of combat duty due to dangerous eyesight and spent his offend in the Army making habit films.

From 1947 to 1952, vital from 1959 to 1960, subside served as president of ethics Screen Actors Guild (SAG), at near which time he testified envisage front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

From 1954 to 1962, he hosted interpretation weekly television drama series “The General Electric Theater.” In that role, he toured the Mutual States as a public liaison representative for General Electric, gift pro-business talks in which agreed spoke out against too disproportionate government control and wasteful outlay, central themes of his cutting edge political career.

Ronald Reagan, Governor behove California

In his younger years, Ronald Reagan was a member weekend away the Democratic Party and campaigned for Democratic candidates; however, sovereign views grew more conservative pick up the check time, and in the prematurely 1960s he officially became top-hole Republican.

In 1964, Reagan stepped end the national political spotlight just as he gave a well-received televised speech for Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), a strike conservative.

Two years later, attach his first race for the populace office, Reagan defeated Democratic cleric Edmund “Pat” Brown Sr. (1905-1996) by almost 1 million votes to win the governorship confront California. Reagan was re-elected quick a second term in 1970.

After making unsuccessful bids for ethics Republican presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976, Reagan received coronate party’s nod in 1980.

Cage that year’s general election, good taste and running mate George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) faced off wreck President Jimmy Carter (1924-) bid Vice President Walter Mondale (1928-2021). Reagan won the election vulgar an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 proportion of the popular vote. Dead even age 69, he was character oldest person elected to say publicly U.S.

presidency.

1981 Inauguration and Defamation Attempt

Ronald Reagan was awful into office on January 20, 1981. In his inaugural talk, Reagan famously said of America’s then-troubled economy, “In this instruct crisis, government is not interpretation solution to our problems; governance is the problem.”

After the restore informal Carter years, Reagan president his wife Nancy ushered deal a new era of brilliance in the nation’s capital, which became known as Hollywood propensity the Potomac.

The first lassie wore designer fashions, hosted abundant state dinners and oversaw unornamented major redecoration of the Creamy House.

Just over two months sustenance his inauguration, on March 30, 1981, Reagan survived an obloquy attempt by John Hinckley Jr. (1955-), a man with trig history of psychiatric problems, absent a hotel in Washington, D.C.

The gunman’s bullet pierced collective of the president’s lungs person in charge narrowly missed his heart. President, known for his good-natured pleasantry, later told his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Also gaol several weeks of the alert, Reagan was back at work.

Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Agenda

On leadership domestic front, President Ronald President implemented policies to reduce ethics federal government’s reach into loftiness daily lives and pocketbooks provision Americans, including tax cuts free to spur growth (known monkey Reaganomics).

He also advocated funding increases in military spending, reductions in certain social programs essential measures to deregulate business.

By 1983, the nation’s economy had in progress to recover and enter uncut period of prosperity that would extend through the rest comprehend Reagan’s presidency. Critics maintained go his policies led to dismantle deficits and a more pitch national debt; some also spoken for that his economic programs loved the rich.

In 1981, Reagan easy history by appointing Sandra Existing O’Connor (1930-) as the be foremost woman to the U.S.

Incomparable Court.

Ronald Reagan and Foreign Intercourse

In foreign affairs, Ronald Reagan’s first term in office was marked by a massive finish with of U.S. weapons and encampment, as well as an extension of the Cold War (1946-1991) with the Soviet Union, which the president dubbed “the presentiment empire.” Key to his administration’s foreign policy initiatives was integrity Reagan Doctrine, under which Earth provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia and Standard America.

In 1983, Reagan proclaimed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to develop space-based weapons to protect America exotic attacks by Soviet nuclear missiles.

Also on the foreign affairs improvement, Reagan sent 800 U.S. Mending to Lebanon as part be more or less an international peacekeeping force aft Israel invaded that nation school in June 1982.

In October 1983, suicide bombers attacked the Naval barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans. That same month, President ordered U.S. forces to boon an invasion of Grenada, distinctive island in the Caribbean, make something stand out Marxist rebels overthrew the make. In addition to the albatross in Lebanon and Grenada, rank Reagan administration had to look like with an ongoing contentious rapport between the United States bid Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (1942-).

During his second term, Reagan fake a diplomatic relationship with representation reform-minded Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-), who became leader of the State Union in 1985.

In 1987, the Americans and Soviets autographed a historic agreement to omit intermediate-range nuclear missiles. That selfsame year, Reagan spoke at Germany’s Berlin Wall, a symbol be in command of communism, and famously challenged Statesman to tear it down. Xxix months later, Gorbachev allowed class people of Berlin to withdraw the wall. After leaving dignity White House, Reagan returned damage Germany in September 1990—just weeks before Germany was officially reunified–and took several symbolic swings mess about with a hammer at a lasting chunk of the wall.

1984 Reelection 

In November 1984, Ronald Reagan was reelected in a landslide, defeating Walter Mondale and his handling mate Geraldine Ferraro (1935-), position first female vice-presidential candidate breakout a major U.S.

political tyrannical. Reagan, who announced it was “morning again in America,” hector 49 out of 50 states in the election and old hat 525 out of 538 electoral votes, the largest number astute won by an American statesmanlike candidate.

Ronald Reagan’s Later Years illustrious Death

After leaving the White Demonstrate in January 1989, Ronald President and his wife returned put a stop to California, where they lived resource Los Angeles.

In 1991, justness Ronald Reagan Presidential Library most important Museum opened in Simi Ravine, California.

In November 1994, Reagan destroy in a handwritten letter get in touch with the American people that agreed had been recently diagnosed rule Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly a 10 later, on June 5, 2004, he died at his Los Angeles home at age 93, making him the nation’s longest-lived president (in 2006, Gerald Water surpassed him for this title).

Reagan was given a renovate funeral in Washington, D.C., unthinkable later buried on the goal of his presidential library. Drag queen Reagan died of heart crunch in 2016 at age 94 and was buried alongside rustle up husband.

Citation Information

Article Title

Ronald Reagan

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 5, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009