Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/ RAY-gən; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an

American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States
from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, his presidency constituted the
Reagan era, and he is considered one of the most prominent conservative figures in
American history.

Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began to work as a sports
broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California, and became a well-known film
actor there. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan served as the president of the Screen Actors
Guild. During the 1950s, he worked in television and spoke for General Electric.
From 1959 to 1960, he again served as the Screen Actors Guild's president. In 1964,
"A Time for Choosing" gave Reagan attention as a new conservative figure. He was
elected governor of California in 1966. During his governorship, he raised taxes,
turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and cracked down harshly on
university protests. After challenging and losing to incumbent president Gerald
Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican
nomination and then a landslide victory over incumbent Democratic president Jimmy
Carter in the 1980 United States presidential election.

In his first term, Reagan implemented "Reaganomics", which involved economic

deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of
stagflation. He escalated an arms race and transitioned Cold War policy away from
détente with the Soviet Union. Reagan also ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
Additionally, he survived an assassination attempt, fought public-sector labor
unions, expanded the war on drugs, and was slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic in
the United States, which began early in his presidency. In the 1984 presidential
election, he defeated former vice president Walter Mondale in another landslide
victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing
of Libya, the Iran–Iraq War, the secret and illegal sale of arms to Iran to fund
the Contras, and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev that culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a
significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the
United States having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At the same
time, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in
taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary
spending. Reagan's policies also helped contribute to the end of the Cold War and
the end of Soviet communism.[7] Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-
presidency, and his physical and mental capacities rapidly deteriorated, ultimately
leading to his death in 2004. Historians and scholars have typically ranked him
among the upper to middle tier of American presidents, and his post-presidential
approval ratings by the general public are usually high.[8]

Early life

Reagan at Eureka
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in a commercial building in
Tampico, Illinois, as the younger son of Nelle Clyde Wilson and Jack Reagan.[9]
Nelle was committed to the Disciples of Christ,[10] which believed in the Social
Gospel.[11] She led prayer meetings and ran mid-week prayers at her church when the
pastor was out of town.[10] Reagan credited her spiritual influence[12] and he
became a Christian.[13] According to Stephen Vaughn, Reagan's values came from his
pastor, and the First Christian Church's religious, economic and social positions
"coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan".[14] Jack
focused on making money to take care of the family,[9] but this was complicated by
his alcoholism.[15] Neil Reagan was Reagan's older brother.[16] Together, they
lived in Chicago, Galesburg, and Monmouth before returning to Tampico. In 1920,
they settled in Dixon, Illinois,[17] living in a house near the H. C. Pitney
Variety Store Building.[18]

Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in drama and
football.[19] His first job involved working as a lifeguard at the Rock River in
Lowell Park.[20] In 1928, Reagan began attending Eureka College[21] at Nelle's
approval on religious grounds.[22] He was a mediocre student[23] that participated
in sports, drama, and campus politics. He became student body president and joined
a student strike that resulted in the college president's resignation.[24] Reagan
was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and served as president
of the local chapter.[25] Reagan played at the guard position for the 1930 and 1931
Eureka Red Devils football teams and recalled a time when two black football
teammates were refused service at a segregated hotel; he invited them to his
parents' home nearby in Dixon and his parents welcomed them. At the time, his
parents' stance on racial questions were unusually progressive in Dixon.[26] Reagan
himself had grown up with very few black Americans there and was unaware of a race
problem.[27]

Entertainment career
Further information: Ronald Reagan filmography
Radio and film
A frame of Ronald Reagan in the 1939 film Dark Victory
Dark Victory (1939)
A frame of Reagan in the 1941 film The Bad Man
The Bad Man (1941)
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Eureka
College in 1932,[28][29] Reagan took a job in Davenport, Iowa, as a sports
broadcaster for four football games in the Big Ten Conference.[30] He then worked
for WHO radio in Des Moines as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. His specialty
was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the
station received by wire as the games were in progress.[31] Simultaneously, he
often expressed his opposition to racism.[32] In 1936, while traveling with the
Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to
a seven-year contract with Warner Bros.[33]

Reagan arrived at Hollywood in 1937, debuting in Love Is on the Air (1937).[34]

Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors'
instructions,[35] Reagan made thirty films, mostly B films, before beginning
military service in April 1942.[36] He broke out of these types of films by
portraying George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), which would be
rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for
president of the United States.[37] Afterward, Reagan starred in Kings Row (1942)
as a leg amputee, asking, "Where's the rest of me?"[38] His performance was
considered his best by many critics.[39] Reagan became a star,[40] with Gallup
polls placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.[39]

World War II interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to
achieve again[40] as Warner Bros. became uncertain about his ability to generate
ticket sales. Reagan, who had a limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the
roles he received. As a result, Lew Wasserman renegotiated his contract with his
studio, allowing him to also make films with Universal Pictures, Paramount
Pictures, and RKO Pictures as a freelancer. With this, Reagan appeared in multiple
western films, something that had been denied him working at Warner Bros.[41] In
1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros.,[42] but went on to appear in a
total of 53 films,[36] his last being The Killers (1964).[43]

Military service
Captain Reagan in the Army Air Force working for the 1st Motion Picture Unit in
Culver City, California, between 1943 and 1944
Reagan at Fort Roach, between 1943 and 1944
In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the United States Army Reserve. He was assigned
as a private in Des Moines' 322nd Cavalry Regiment and reassigned to second
lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps.[44] He later became a part of the 323rd
Cavalry Regiment in California.[45] As relations between the United States and
Japan worsened, Reagan was ordered for active duty while he was filming Kings Row.
Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete
the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a draft
dodger, the studio let him go in April 1942.[46]

Reagan reported for duty with severe near-sightedness. His first assignment was at
Fort Mason as a liaison officer, a role that allowed him to transfer to the United
States Army Air Forces (AAF). Reagan became an AAF public relations officer and was
subsequently assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit in Culver City[47] where he felt
that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he
felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal
bureaucracy.[48] Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force
Show Unit in Burbank[49] and continued to make theatrical films.[50] He was also
ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the sixth War Loan
Drive before being reassigned to Fort MacArthur until his discharge on December 9,
1945, as a captain. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400
training films.[49]