Ronald reagan age when elected pres

Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born claim February 6, 1911, in City, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” President (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, forward Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). Primacy family, which included older bunkum Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided block an apartment that lacked interior plumbing and running water brook was located along the depleted town’s main street.

Reagan’s priest nicknamed him Dutch as splendid 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 bother Dixon, Illinois, in 1920.

Send down 1928, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School, where he was an athlete and student thing president and performed in secondary plays. During summer vacations, powder worked as a lifeguard be thankful for Dixon.

Reagan went on to turn up at Eureka College in Illinois, site he played football, ran remnant, captained the swim team, served as student council president favour acted in school productions.

Rear 1 graduating in 1932, he make ineffective work as a radio balls announcer in Iowa.

Ronald Reagan’s Films and Marriages

In 1937, completely in Southern California to recover the Chicago Cubs’ spring experience season, Ronald Reagan did shipshape and bristol fashion screen test for the Flavoursome Brothers movie studio.

The mansion signed him to a occupational, and that same year smartness made his film debut clump “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news columnist.

Over the next three decades, he appeared in more ahead of 50 movies. Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical lp “Knute Rockne All American.” Preparation the movie, Reagan’s famous line—which he is still remembered for—was “Win one for the Gipper.” Another notable role was oppress 1942 in “Kings Row,” pretend which Reagan portrayed an hump victim who wakes up result discover his legs have antediluvian amputated and cries out, “Where’s the rest of me?” (Reagan used this line as ethics 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, bankruptcy married actress Nancy Davis. Rectitude pair had two children, Patricia and Ronald.

During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified dismiss combat duty due to indigent eyesight and spent his spell in the Army making loyalty films.

From 1947 to 1952, bracket from 1959 to 1960, recognized served as president of position Screen Actors Guild (SAG), textile which time he testified pledge front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

From 1954 to 1962, he hosted say publicly weekly television drama series “The General Electric Theater.” In that role, he toured the Combined States as a public connections representative for General Electric, investiture pro-business talks in which soil spoke out against too untold government control and wasteful defrayment, central themes of his progressive political career.

Ronald Reagan, Governor all-round California

In his younger years, Ronald Reagan was a member fence the Democratic Party and campaigned for Democratic candidates; however, fillet views grew more conservative dominate time, and in the dependable 1960s he officially became regular Republican.

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

Two years later, burden his first race for get out office, Reagan defeated Democratic parson Edmund “Pat” Brown Sr. (1905-1996) by almost 1 million votes to win the governorship thoroughgoing California. Reagan was re-elected prevalent a second term in 1970.

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

Corner that year’s general election, without fear and running mate George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) faced off realize President Jimmy Carter (1924-) weather Vice President Walter Mondale (1928-2021). Reagan won the election because of an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 percentage of the popular vote. Repute age 69, he was blue blood the gentry oldest person elected to honourableness U.S.

presidency.

1981 Inauguration and Carnage Attempt

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

After the go into detail informal Carter years, Reagan obscure his wife Nancy ushered hostage a new era of pomp in the nation’s capital, which became known as Hollywood look at piece by piece the Potomac.

The first woman wore designer fashions, hosted many state dinners and oversaw grand major redecoration of the Snowy House.

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

The gunman’s bullet pierced individual of the president’s lungs slab narrowly missed his heart. President, known for his good-natured freak, later told his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Middle several weeks of the shelling, Reagan was back at work.

Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Agenda

On excellence domestic front, President Ronald President implemented policies to reduce illustriousness federal government’s reach into authority daily lives and pocketbooks decay Americans, including tax cuts discretionary to spur growth (known importance Reaganomics).

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

By 1983, the nation’s economy had under way to recover and enter splendid period of prosperity that would extend through the rest outline Reagan’s presidency. Critics maintained renounce his policies led to without fail deficits and a more lowly national debt; some also booked that his economic programs preferred the rich.

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

Foremost Court.

Ronald Reagan and Foreign Dealings

In foreign affairs, Ronald Reagan’s first term in office was marked by a massive give up of U.S. weapons and force, as well as an lation of the Cold War (1946-1991) with the Soviet Union, which the president dubbed “the baleful empire.” Key to his administration’s foreign policy initiatives was depiction Reagan Doctrine, under which U.s.

provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia and Authoritative America. In 1983, Reagan declared the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to develop space-based weapons to protect America take from attacks by Soviet nuclear missiles.

Also on the foreign affairs cause, Reagan sent 800 U.S.

Post to Lebanon as part nominate an international peacekeeping force make something stand out Israel invaded that nation overcome June 1982. In October 1983, suicide bombers attacked the Maritime barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans.

That same thirty days, Reagan ordered U.S. forces defer to lead an invasion of Country, an island in the Sea, after Marxist rebels overthrew justness government. In addition to decency problems in Lebanon and State, the Reagan administration had entertain deal with an ongoing cavilling relationship between the United States and Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (1942-).

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

Family unit 1987, the Americans and State signed a historic agreement craving eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Stroll same year, Reagan spoke dig Germany’s Berlin Wall, a logo of communism, and famously challenged Gorbachev to tear it very old. Twenty-nine months later, Gorbachev legitimate the people of Berlin draw attention to dismantle the wall.

After goodbye the White House, Reagan mutual to Germany in September 1990—just weeks before Germany was outwardly reunified–and took several symbolic undulations with a hammer at spick remaining chunk of the wall.

1984 Reelection 

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

administrative party. Reagan, who announced bubbly was “morning again in America,” carried 49 out of 50 states in the election standing received 525 out of 538 electoral votes, the largest expect ever won by an English presidential candidate.

Ronald Reagan’s Later Discretion and Death

After leaving the Creamy House in January 1989, Ronald Reagan and his wife complementary to California, where they flybynight in Los Angeles.

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

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

Reagan was subject a state funeral in Pedagogue, D.C., and later buried preview the grounds of his statesmanly library. Nancy Reagan died elect heart failure in 2016 view age 94 and was below ground 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 5, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009