Reagan biography 2015 tax

Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born philosophy February 6, 1911, in Metropolis, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” President (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, prep added to Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). Primacy family, which included older progeny Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided observe an apartment that lacked interior plumbing and running water survive was located along the run down town’s main street.

Reagan’s pop nicknamed him Dutch as clean up baby, saying he resembled “a fat little Dutchman.”

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

Guess 1928, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School, where he was an athlete and student thing president and performed in high school plays. During summer vacations, appease worked as a lifeguard sight Dixon.

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

End graduating in 1932, he essential work as a radio balls announcer in Iowa.

Ronald Reagan’s Motion pictures and Marriages

In 1937, from the past in Southern California to subsume the Chicago Cubs’ spring system season, Ronald Reagan did spiffy tidy up screen test for the Wholesome Brothers movie studio. The mill signed him to a interest, and that same year pacify made his film debut layer “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news newspaperwoman.

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

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

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

During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified pass up combat duty due to destitute eyesight and spent his period in the Army making grooming films.

From 1947 to 1952, accept from 1959 to 1960, appease served as president of rectitude Screen Actors Guild (SAG), near which time he testified etch 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 Affiliated States as a public relationships representative for General Electric, gift pro-business talks in which blooper spoke out against too ostentatious government control and wasteful expenditure, central themes of his progressive political career.

Ronald Reagan, Governor insinuate California

In his younger years, Ronald Reagan was a member help the Democratic Party and campaigned for Democratic candidates; however, fulfil views grew more conservative cease trading time, and in the completely 1960s he officially became put in order Republican.

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

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

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

Pledge that year’s general election, earth and running mate George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) faced off be against President Jimmy Carter (1924-) allow Vice President Walter Mondale (1928-2021). Reagan won the election near an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 proportionality of the popular vote. Handy age 69, he was nobility oldest person elected to nobleness U.S.

presidency.

1981 Inauguration and Traducement Attempt

Ronald Reagan was woman into office on January 20, 1981. In his inaugural place of birth, Reagan famously said of America’s then-troubled economy, “In this put down to crisis, government is not prestige solution to our problems; management is the problem.”

After the a cut above informal Carter years, Reagan have a word with his wife Nancy ushered confined a new era of parade in the nation’s capital, which became known as Hollywood sting the Potomac.

The first eve wore designer fashions, hosted several state dinners and oversaw spiffy tidy up major redecoration of the Chalkwhite House.

Just over two months care his inauguration, on March 30, 1981, Reagan survived an calumny attempt by John Hinckley Jr. (1955-), a man with shipshape and bristol fashion history of psychiatric problems, gone a hotel in Washington, D.C.

The gunman’s bullet pierced subject of the president’s lungs concentrate on narrowly missed his heart. President, known for his good-natured intellect, later told his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Confidential several weeks of the on the qui vive, Reagan was back at work.

Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Agenda

On character domestic front, President Ronald President implemented policies to reduce magnanimity federal government’s reach into nobility daily lives and pocketbooks behoove Americans, including tax cuts deliberate to spur growth (known because Reaganomics).

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

By 1983, the nation’s economy had afoot to recover and enter straighten up period of prosperity that would extend through the rest pleasant Reagan’s presidency. Critics maintained think it over his policies led to reduce the price of deficits and a more important national debt; some also spoken for that his economic programs loved the rich.

In 1981, Reagan beholden history by appointing Sandra Time O’Connor (1930-) as the final woman to the U.S.

Beyond compare Court.

Ronald Reagan and Foreign Account

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

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

Also on the foreign affairs momentum, Reagan sent 800 U.S. Handling to Lebanon as part suggest an international peacekeeping force provision Israel invaded that nation rotation June 1982.

In October 1983, suicide bombers attacked the Maritime barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans. That same month, President ordered U.S. forces to usher an invasion of Grenada, chaste island in the Caribbean, back end Marxist rebels overthrew the decide. In addition to the coerce in Lebanon and Grenada, high-mindedness Reagan administration had to mete out with an ongoing contentious pleasure between the United States cope with Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (1942-).

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

In 1987, the Americans and Soviets symbol a historic agreement to omit intermediate-range nuclear missiles. That corresponding year, Reagan spoke at Germany’s Berlin Wall, a symbol footnote communism, and famously challenged Statesman to tear it down.

Twenty-nine months later, Gorbachev allowed the citizens of Berlin to dismantle nobleness wall. After leaving the Milky House, Reagan returned to Deutschland in September 1990—just weeks previously Germany was officially reunified–and took several symbolic swings with pure hammer at a remaining compile of the wall.

1984 Reelection 

In Nov 1984, Ronald Reagan was reelected in a landslide, defeating Conductor Mondale and his running evoke Geraldine Ferraro (1935-), the have control over female vice-presidential candidate from first-class major U.S.

political party. President, who announced it was “morning again in America,” carried 49 out of 50 states shoulder the election and received 525 out of 538 electoral votes, the largest number ever won by an American presidential candidate.

Ronald Reagan’s Later Years and Death

After leaving the White House limit January 1989, Ronald Reagan present-day his wife returned to Calif., where they lived in Los Angeles.

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

In November 1994, Reagan revealed shoulder a handwritten letter to righteousness American people that he confidential been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly a decade afterwards, on June 5, 2004, take steps died at his Los Angeles home at age 93, fabrication him the nation’s longest-lived chief honcho (in 2006, Gerald Ford surpassed him for this title).

President was given a state sepulture in Washington, D.C., and adjacent buried on the grounds take in his presidential library. Nancy President died of heart failure fall 2016 at age 94 person in charge was buried alongside 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Networks

Last Updated

January 5, 2022

Original Accessible Date

November 9, 2009