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Born
Born in Tampico Illonois
the second of 2 sons -
Period: to
During his life
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settled
after years and years of moving around his family settled in Dixon Illinois -
Baptized
Reagan is baptized at his mother's Disciples of Christ Church -
HighSchool
Reagan enters Dixon's Northside High School. -
Job
Job as Lifeguard -
Saves LIVES!
"Dixon Daily Telegraph" front page headline reads: "Ronald Reagan saves drowning man." By the time he leaves his job, after seven summers, the count of those he has pulled from the water is 77. -
Enrolls in college
Reagan enrolls in Eureka College, a small Christian college near Peoria, Illinois. Although never a model student (he graduated with a "C" average), Reagan is successful as both an actor and a football player. -
Work
Within six weeks of graduating from Eureka, Reagan finds work at WOC radio in Davenport, Iowa. -
Temporary job
Reagan receives a temporary sports broadcasting job with WOC, a small radio station in Davenport, Iowa. After WOC consolidates with WHO in Des Moines, "Dutch" recreates Chicago Cubs baseball games from the studio. WHO, an NBC affiliate, gives Reagan national media exposure. -
Discovered
Reagan enlists in the Army Reserve as a private but is soon promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry. An agent for Warner Brothers "discovers" Reagan in Los Angeles and offers him a seven-year contract. -
Married
Reagan marries actress Jane Wyman, whom he met while making the movie Brother Rat. -
Knute Rockne, All American
Reagan plays Notre Dame football legend George Gipp in one of his most famos films ,Knute Rockne, All American! -
daughter born
Daughter maureen born -
assigned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, Calif.
Reagan is called to active duty by the Army Air Force. He is assigned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, Calif., where he makes over 400 training films. -
The Reagans adopt Michael.
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Reagan supports Harry Truman for president.
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Reagan and Wyman divorce.
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Son Ronald Prescott (Ron) is born.
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Reagan officially changes his party registration to Republican.
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Reagan gives a television address supporting Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. The speech, called "A Time for Choosing," launches Reagan's political career.
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Reagan announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.
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He loses the Republican Party's nomination to Gerald Ford, but a strong showing sets the stage for Reagan's election in 1980. In the meantime, Reagan works on his ranch, gives speeches, does radio commentaries and writes a weekly newspaper column.
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Reagan announces his candidacy for president. After winning the party's nomination, he chooses George Bush as his running mate. The platform calls for "a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words:
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Reagan is elected president in a landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter.
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Reagan is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. On the same day, Iran releases the 52 remaining hostages who had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.
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Reagan is shot in the chest upon leaving a Washington hotel but makes a full recovery after surgery. Three other people, including Reagan press secretary James Brady, are wounded in the assassination attempt. John Hinckley Jr. is charged but found not gui
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1981,
Reagan appears before Congress for the first time since the assassination attempt. He receives a hero's welcome and overwhelming support for his economic package, which includes cuts in social programs and taxes, and increases in defense spending.
July 29, 1981
Congress passes Reagan's tax bill. Instead of a 30% tax cut over three years, Reagan accepts 25%.
Aug. 3, 1981
Air traffic controllers go on strike. Reagan gives them 48 hours to get back to work, and fires those who refuse. -
1981,
September 1981
Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Oct. 18, 1981
Reagan concedes that the United States is in "a slight recession" but predicts recovery by the spring. Nov. 10, 1981
Budget Director David Stockman charges that the 5% economic growth rate that the administration had assumed was a "rosy scenario," and pans "supply side" economics as a way to benefit the rich. -
A Soviet fighter downs Korean Air Lines flight (KAL 007), killing all 269 people aboard, including 61 Americans. Reagan denounces it as a "crime against humanity."
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Reagan undergoes surgery for colon cancer and is released from the hospital a week later.
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Reagan discloses in a letter that he has Alzheimer's disease. "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life," he writes. "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."
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Maureen Reagan, Reagan's oldest daughter, dies at 60 after a long struggle with cancer.
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Ronald Reagan dies in California at the age of 93.