Ronald Reagan

• He was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and

the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975).
• Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in
the 1930s.
• He began a career as an actor, first in films and later television,
appearing in 52 movie productions and gaining enough success to
become a household name.
• Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later
spokesman for General Electric (GE); his start in politics occurred
during his work for GE.
• He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination
in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and election
in 1980.
• In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line
against labor unions, and ordered military actions in Grenada.
• Reagan endorsed the campaign of conservative presidential
contender Barry Goldwater in 1964.
• Ronald Reagan pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in
individual freedom, brought changes domestically, both to the U.S.
economy and expanded military, and contributed to the end of
the Cold War.
• Reagan is the oldest man elected to the office of the presidency at 69.
• Reagan implemented policies based on supply-side economics and
advocated a classical liberal and laissez-faire philosophy.
• During his presidency, federal income tax rates were lowered
significantly with the signing of the bipartisan Economic Recovery Tax
Act of 1981.
• Reagan ended the price controls on domestic oil which had contributed
to energy crises in the 1970s.
• Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy
of détente which began in 1979 following the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan.
• In March 1983, Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI), a defense project.
• Reagan's opponent in the 1984 presidential election was former Vice
President Walter Mondale.
• On July 13, 1985, Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval
Hospital to remove cancerous polyps from his colon.
• Earlier in his presidency, Reagan started wearing a custom,
technologically advanced hearing aid, first in his right ear.
• In 1994, the former president disclosed that he had been diagnosed
with Alzheimer's disease.
• Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home on January 13, 2001,
resulting in a broken hip.
• He died ten years later at the age of 93.
• He has been rated highly by scholars in rankings of U.S. Presidents
• In presidential surveys he has consistently been ranked in the first and
second quartiles, with more recent surveys generally ranking Reagan
in the first quartile of U.S. presidents.
• He was notable amongst post-World War II presidents as being
convinced that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply
negotiated with.
• Reagan has become an iconic influence within the Republican Party.
• Following Reagan's death, the United States Postal Service issued a
President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp in 2005.