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Birth~
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” Reagan, and Nelle Wilson Reagan. Reagan also had a older brother named Neil he is Three years older then Ronald. -
Early Childhood & Early Education~
Reagan, and his family lived in several different towns in Illinois. In 1920 as Reagan's father switched jobs, they settled in Dixon.1928 Reagan graduated from Dixon High school where he was an athlete and student body president, he also performed in school plays. During the summer he would work as a lifeguard. -
Further Education~
After graduating high school Reagan just like most others went to college. He attended Eureka College in Illinois. During his college years he played football, ran track, captained the swim team, served as student council president and acted in school plays, like he did in high school. After he graduated in 1932 he found work as a radio sports announcer in Iowa. -
Reagan’s Hollywood Career~
In 1937, while in Southern California to cover the Chicago Cubs' spring training season, Reagan did a screen test for the Warner Brothers movie studio. The studio soon signed him to a contract, and that same year he made his film debut in “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news reporter. Over the next 30 years he appeared in more than 50 movies. Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical film “Knute Rockne All American.” -
Marriages & Children~
In 1940 Reagan Married Jane Wyman, they had their daughter Maureen in 1941, and in 1945 they adopted their son Micheal. In 1948 the couple got a divorce. Four years later in 1952 reagan got remarried to Nancy Davis. The couple had two children, Patricia in 1952 and their second Ronald, was born in 1958. -
Midpoint of Reagan's life~
During WWll from 1939-1945, Reagan was disqualified from combat duty due to poor eyesight, so he spent his time in the Army making training films. From 1947 to 1952, and from 1959 to 1960, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, during that time he testified in front of the house of Un-American Activities Committee. -
Beginning of Presidency~
Reagan was elected president on November 4, 1980. On January 20, 1981. Just a little over two months after his inauguration, on March 30, 1981, Reagan survived an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. John was a man with a history of psychiatric problems. He was outside of a hotel in Washington D.C. John's bullet hit on of Reagan's lungs, just barely missing his heart. Within several weeks of the shooting, he was back at work. Reagan's last day being president was January 20, 1989. -
After Presidency~
After Reagan and his wife left the white house, they returned to California, where they lived in Los Angeles. In 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum opened in Simi Valley, California. -
Last 10 years of Reagan's life~
November of 1994, Reagan revealed in a handwritten letter to the American people, that he had been recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. Almost 10 years later, on June 5, 2004, he passed away in his Los Angeles home at the age of 93. Dying at 93, made him the nation's longest lived president, until Gerald Ford in 2006 surpassed him for this title. Regan was given a state funeral in Washington D.C., and later buried on the site of his presidential library.
