Born: February 6, 1911
Died: June 5, 2004 Place of Birth: Tampico, Illinois
Major Notes:
Ronald Reagan was the second son of Nellie and John Reagan.
Reagan's father, an alcoholic, was often on the road as he was a shoe salesman.
The family finally settled in Dixon, Illinois, where Reagan attended high school.
Reagan served as the student council president and participated in many sports, including football.
He also worked as a life guard in Dixon and is credited with saving many lives at Lowell Park.
After graduating from high school, Ronald Reagan entered Eureka College where he took an interest in acting.
He graduated in 1932, serving at one time President of the student body and majoring in economics and sociology.
Reagan then signed to become a radio sports announcer until, in 1937, he was signed to act in movies.
In 1940, Ronald Reagan married the famous actress Jane Wyman and had two children but the couple were divorced in 1948.
During World War II, Reagan enlisted in the military where he rose to the rank of Captain but was not accepted for war duty because of an eye problem.
He acted in over fifty movies including Knute Rockne, All American where he played the part of Rockne, "The Great Gipper."
During the remainder of Reagan's Hollywood and political career, he was often referred to as "The Gipper."
In 1952, he married another actress, Nancy Davis, who was a real asset and supporter in his political life.
After gaining some experience in Hollywood "politics", Ronald Reagan became the 33rd Governor of California in 1966 and was re-elected in 1970.
As governor, he forced the University of California to charge tuition fees for the first time.
A conservative Republican, he also froze hiring of new employees, raised taxes, and balanced the budget.
Reagan made two runs at becoming the Republican candidate for US President before on his third try, in 1980, he was successful.
After winning debates with Jimmy Carter, the Democratic President at the time, Reagan was elected and inherited the Iran Hostage Crisis.
Ronald Reagan resolved the crisis after 100 days in office only to become the first US President to survive a shooting assassination attempt.
He was re-elected in 1984 and many credit his confrontation policies for wining the Cold War with Russia.
Ronald Reagan died in 2004, after a long battle with Alzheimers disease, and was accorded a state funeral, a measure of the respect Americans had for "the gipper."
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