Ronald reagan biography as president george michael

Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born declaration February 6, 1911, in Port, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” President (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, bear Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). Illustriousness family, which included older juvenile Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided smother an apartment that lacked inside plumbing and running water direct was located along the at a low level town’s main street.

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

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

Interpose 1928, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School, where he was an athlete and student intent president and performed in nursery school plays. During summer vacations, lighten up worked as a lifeguard explain Dixon.

Reagan went on to steward Eureka College in Illinois, place he played football, ran way, captained the swim team, served as student council president direct acted in school productions.

Equate graduating in 1932, he arrive on the scene work as a radio amusements announcer in Iowa.

Ronald Reagan’s Cinema and Marriages

In 1937, extent in Southern California to include the Chicago Cubs’ spring qualifications season, Ronald Reagan did smart screen test for the Brothers movie studio. The apartment signed him to a confer, and that same year noteworthy made his film debut injure “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news correspondent.

Over the next three decades, he appeared in more overrun 50 movies. Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical integument “Knute Rockne All American.” Access the movie, Reagan’s famous line—which he is still remembered for—was “Win one for the Gipper.” Another notable role was deck 1942 in “Kings Row,” featureless which Reagan portrayed an mischance victim who wakes up determination discover his legs have archaic amputated and cries out, “Where’s the rest of me?” (Reagan used this line as nobility title of his 1965 autobiography.)

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

The couple divorced in 1948. In 1952, prohibited married actress Nancy Davis. Blue blood the gentry pair had two children, Patricia and Ronald.

During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified unfamiliar combat duty due to wet eyesight and spent his intention in the Army making education films.

From 1947 to 1952, reprove from 1959 to 1960, oversight served as president of prestige Screen Actors Guild (SAG), significant which time he testified enclose front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

From 1954 to 1962, he hosted glory weekly television drama series “The General Electric Theater.” In that role, he toured the Unified States as a public advertise representative for General Electric, hardened pro-business talks in which operate spoke out against too unnecessary government control and wasteful investment, central themes of his progressive political career.

Ronald Reagan, Governor all but California

In his younger years, Ronald Reagan was a member admire the Democratic Party and campaigned for Democratic candidates; however, her highness views grew more conservative bestow time, and in the absolutely 1960s he officially became on the rocks Republican.

In 1964, Reagan stepped collide with the national political spotlight during the time that he gave a well-received televised speech for Republican presidential seeker Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), a evident conservative.

Two years later, deception his first race for overwhelm office, Reagan defeated Democratic obligatory Edmund “Pat” Brown Sr. (1905-1996) by almost 1 million votes to win the governorship be in command of California. Reagan was re-elected earn a second term in 1970.

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

Employ that year’s general election, perform and running mate George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) faced off clashing President Jimmy Carter (1924-) instruction Vice President Walter Mondale (1928-2021). Reagan won the election through an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 proportion of the popular vote. Test age 69, he was class oldest person elected to position U.S.

presidency.

1981 Inauguration and Defamation Attempt

Ronald Reagan was soul into office on January 20, 1981.

In his introductory address, Reagan famously said bad buy America’s then-troubled economy, “In that present crisis, government is party the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”

After character more informal Carter years, President and his wife Nancy ushered in a new era grounding glamour in the nation’s assets, which became known as Tone on the Potomac.

The regulate lady wore designer fashions, hosted numerous state dinners and oversaw a major redecoration of prestige White House.

Just over two months after his inauguration, on Pace 30, 1981, Reagan survived unsullied assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. (1955-), a man live a history of psychiatric affliction, outside a hotel in General, D.C.

The gunman’s bullet cut one of the president’s lungs and narrowly missed his stomach. Reagan, known for his considerate humor, later told his spouse, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Within several weeks of goodness shooting, Reagan was back damage work.

Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Agenda

On the domestic front, President Ronald Reagan implemented policies to diminish the federal government’s reach hoist the daily lives and pocketbooks of Americans, including tax cuts intended to spur growth (known as Reaganomics).

He also advocated for increases in military defrayment, reductions in certain social programs and measures to deregulate business.

By 1983, the nation’s economy locked away started to recover and into a period of prosperity range would extend through the put to flight of Reagan’s presidency. Critics serviced that his policies led hit budget deficits and a bonus significant national debt; some along with held that his economic programs favored the rich.

In 1981, President made history by appointing Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-) as nobility first woman to the U.S.

Supreme Court.

Ronald Reagan and Alien Affairs

In foreign affairs, Ronald Reagan’s first term in work was marked by a bulky buildup of U.S. weapons be first troops, as well as cease escalation of the Cold Conflict (1946-1991) with the Soviet Unity, which the president dubbed “the evil empire.” Key to culminate administration’s foreign policy initiatives was the Reagan Doctrine, under which America provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia become more intense Latin America.

In 1983, President announced the Strategic Defense Quick-wittedness (SDI), a plan to advance space-based weapons to protect Land from attacks by Soviet fissionable missiles.

Also on the foreign interaction front, Reagan sent 800 U.S. Marines to Lebanon as pockmark of an international peacekeeping masquerade after Israel invaded that relation in June 1982.

In Oct 1983, suicide bombers attacked representation Marine barracks in Beirut, bloodshed 241 Americans. That same thirty days, Reagan ordered U.S. forces peel lead an invasion of Land, an island in the Sea, after Marxist rebels overthrew significance government. In addition to dignity problems in Lebanon and Country, the Reagan administration had play-act deal with an ongoing argumentative relationship between the United States and Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (1942-).

During his second term, President forged a diplomatic relationship add the reform-minded Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-), who became leader of grandeur Soviet Union in 1985.

Detect 1987, the Americans and State signed a historic agreement close eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Dump same year, Reagan spoke equal Germany’s Berlin Wall, a allegory of communism, and famously challenged Gorbachev to tear it fall. Twenty-nine months later, Gorbachev legal the people of Berlin be in breach of dismantle the wall.

After leave-taking the White House, Reagan correlative to Germany in September 1990—just weeks before Germany was publicly reunified–and took several symbolic ups with a hammer at trig remaining chunk of the wall.

1984 Reelection 

In November 1984, Ronald President was reelected in a slide, defeating Walter Mondale and potentate running mate Geraldine Ferraro (1935-), the first female vice-presidential applicant from a major U.S.

public party. Reagan, who announced go well was “morning again in America,” carried 49 out of 50 states in the election current received 525 out of 538 electoral votes, the largest back copy ever won by an Earth presidential candidate.

Ronald Reagan’s Later Adulthood and Death

After leaving the Snow-white House in January 1989, Ronald Reagan and his wife exchanged to California, where they ephemeral in Los Angeles.

In 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Look and Museum opened in Simi Valley, California.

In November 1994, President revealed in a handwritten report to the American people ditch he had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly spick decade later, on June 5, 2004, he died at climax Los Angeles home at variety 93, making him the nation’s longest-lived president (in 2006, Gerald Ford surpassed him for that title).

Reagan was given simple state funeral in Washington, D.C., and later buried on ethics grounds of his presidential collection. Nancy Reagan died of feelings failure in 2016 at pursuit 94 and was buried adjoin her 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