Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981-1989).

Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois to a very ordinary Irish American family. Reagan’s father was a problem drinker and sporadically unemployed. The family drifted in several small Illinois towns during Reagan’s earliest years, finally settled in the small town of Dixon, Illinois when Reagan was nine years old. He attended Dixon High School where he developed a gift for storytelling and acting, and found his first job as a lifeguard. Later he attended Eureka College, majored in economics and sociology, and was very active in sports. Reagan recounted later in his autobiography, of his grown up in the Midwestern small towns:

"... where I learned standards and values that would guide me the rest of my life…. I learned that hard work is an essential part of life- that by and large, you don’t get something for nothing- and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard. I learned to admire risk takers and entrepreneurs, be they farmers or small merchants, who went to work and took risks to build something for themselves and their children, pushing at the boundaries of their lives to make them better. I Have always wondered at this American marvel.”

In 1932, after graduating from Eureka, Reagan worked as Chicago Cubs baseball radio announcer for WOC and later WHO radio stations. In 1937 he took a screen test and landed a contract with Warner Brother studio to begin his acting career. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films. Reagan’s nickname The Gipper and the famous quote “Win One for the Gipper” were originated from the film Knute Rockne, All American when he played the role of George “The Gipper” Gipp . Reagan himself considered his best acting work was the 1942 film Kings Row in which he played the part of a young man whose legs were amputated. The famous line he spoke in this film “Where’s the rest of me?” became the title of Reagan’s first autobiography.

In 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children, Maureen and Michael. The marriage broke up in 1948. In 1952 Reagan married with actress Nancy Davis. From the very start of their marriage, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were “soul mates”. They had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.

Reagan was originally a Democrat. His first major political role was as president of the Screen Actors Guild  (SAG); he served as SAG president from 1947 till 1952, and later 1959-1960. As president of the SAG, Reagan became embroiled in dispute over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. Following the election of John F. Kennedy, Reagan switched parties from Democrat to Republican. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism.

In 1966 Reagan was elected Governor of California, and re-elected in 1970. During his governorship, Reagan was remembered for his government hiring freeze, tax hikes and impose ten percent expenditure cut to balance the state budget, and quick-hand approach to crack down on student protest movements of the era.

In 1976 Republican primaries, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford and narrowly lost. (1187 delegates for Ford to 1070 for Reagan.)

In 1980, Reagan won the Republican nomination for President. In the general election Reagan won a landslide victory to defeat the incumbent President Jimmy Carter. (Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for Carter.) Four years later in 1984, Reagan again won another landslide victory for re-election. Reagan was the oldest one to be elected as U.S. President at age of 69, also the oldest one to complete the presidency at age of 77.

During his eight-year presidency, Reagan accomplished many both in domestic and foreign agendas:

In the domestic agenda, noticeably in the economic policy, Reagan was an advocate of free markets and believed that the American economy was hampered by excessive economic controls and misguided welfare programs enacted during the 1960s and 1970s. His “Reaganomics”(i.e., supply-side economic policy) achieved a 25% cut in the federal personal income tax, moderate deregulation and tax reform removed barriers to economic activity and lead to increased investments in the economy. During Reagan administration, the economy recovered robustly from the 1981-82 recession, followed by an impressive 9.7% GDP economic growth without inflation between 1982 and 1989. 

In foreign policy, Reagan administration pursued “peace through strength” approach. During his two terms presidency, the defense spending increased 35 percent, noted for it’s boldness against communism and then skillful diplomacy in embracing Soviet Union reformer Gorvachev to pursue disarmament treaty negotiation.

On June 12, 1987, speaking in front of the Berlin Wall, Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Gorbvachev to go further with his reforms and “tear down this wall.”

On November 9, 1989, ten months after Reagan’s completion of his presidency, the Berlin Wall finally fell; marked the end of the Cold War era.

Overall, Reagan is credited with restoring America’s power and prosperity. Yet, by no means that his presidency was problem free. He had to survive a close-range assassination during his early presidency. He had to escape blame for numerous scandals; the Iran-Contra Affair, EPA Superfund controversy, the Saving and Loan Crises, etc. His ability to escape plaguing scandals earned him the nickname—The Teflon President.

Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994. He died of pneumonia on June 5, 2004. After a major state funeral in Washington that drew leaders from around the world, he was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.