Biographical Sketch of Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 - 2004):
Feb. 6, 1911
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Ill. to Nelle Wilson and John Edward ("Jack") Reagan. The Reagans had one previous son, Neil ("Moon") Reagan.
1920
The Reagans moved to a succession of rural northern Illinois towns until they settled in Dixon, Illinois, the place Reagan considers his hometown
1926
Beginning in 1926, Reagan was employed as a lifeguard at Lowell Park in Dixon. He was credited with saving 77 lives during the 7 summers he worked there.
1928
Reagan graduated from Dixon High School. He served as student body president and participated in football, basketball, track, and school plays.
1928-1932
Reagan attended Eureka (Illinois) College, a small liberal arts institution, and majored in economics and sociology. During his sophomore year, Reagan became interested in drama. Reagan also served as student body president. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's populist rhetoric attracted Reagan to him and later influenced Reagan's speaking style.
1932
Reagan received a temporary sports broadcasting job with WOC, a small radio station in Davenport, Iowa. After WOC consolidated with WHO in Des Moines, "Dutch" recreated Chicago Cubs baseball games from the studio. WHO, an NBC affiliate, gave Reagan natlonal media exposure.
1937
Reagan enlisted in the Army Reserve as a Private but was soon promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry. An agent for Warner Brothers "discovered" Reagan in Los Angeles and offered him a seven year contract. Reagan played George Gipp in his most acclaimed film, Knute Rockne -- All American (l940).
Jan 24, 1940
Reagan and Jane Wyman married. They met while making the movie, "Brother Rat."
Jan 4, 1941
Maureen was born.
1942
The Army Air Force called Reagan to active duty and assigned Lieutenant Reagan to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, where he made over 400 training films.
Jul 22, 1943
The Army promoted Reagan to the rank of Captain
Dec 9, 1945
The Army discharged Captain Reagan.
1945 - 1965
Reagan resumed his acting career after the war. Reagan made fifty-three motion pictures and one television movie.
Mar 18, 1945
Michael was born.
1948
Reagan supported Harry Truman for President
1949
Reagan and Wyman divorced.
1950
Reagan campaigned for Helen Gahagan Douglas for the Senate.
1952
Reagan campaigned as a Democrat for Eisenhower. Reagan accepted a job as spokesman for the General Electric Company which allowed him to tour the country giving speeches.
Mar 4, 1952
Reagan and Nancy Davis wed.
Oct 21, 1952
Patricia was born.
1956
Reagan campaigned as a Democrat for Eisenhower.
May 20, 1958
Ronald Prescott was born.
1960
Reagan campaigned for Richard Nixon for President.
1962
Reagan officially changed his party registration to Republican.
1964
Reagan's television address for Goldwater, "A Time for Choosing," launched his political career. A group of California businessmen soon afterward supported Reagan's candidacy for Governor.
1965
Reagan's autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me? is published.
1966
Reagan defeated incumbent governor Edmund G. ("Pat") Brown in a landslide. His success in the election and as governor made him a leading contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1968.
1968
Reagan made a tentative run for the presidency, waiting until the Republican National Convention to announce his candidacy. He later joined in unanimously supporting Richard Nixon.
1970
Reagan is re-elected governor.
1974
For several months after his gubernatorial term ended, Reagan wrote a syndicated newspaper column and provided commentaries on radio stations across the country.
Nov 20, 1975
Reagan announced candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. He lost the party's nomination, but his strong showing laid the groundwork for the election in 1980.
Nov 13, 1979
Reagan announced his candidacy for President. After winning the party's nomination, he chose George Bush as his running mate. The platform called for "a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom."
Nov 4, 1980
Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States in a landslide victory over the incumbent, Jimmy Carter.
Jan 20, 1981
Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, at the age of 69. He was the oldest man to ever hold the presidency.
Mar 30, 1981
Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, D.C. in an assassination attempt by John W. Hinckley, Jr., a former Texas Tech University student later found to be mentally incompetent. While only slightly wounding the President, the assassination attempt paralyzed Reagan aide James Brady, architect of the Brady Law gun control measure.
Apr 11, 1981
Reagan was released from George Washington Hospital.
Jul 7, 1981
Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court. She was the first woman ever appointed to the nation's highest court.
May 31, 1982
Reagan announced the beginning of Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) with the Soviet Union.
Jun 8, 1982
Regan became the first sitting U.S. President to address both houses of the British Parliament in London.
Mar 3, 1983
Regan delivered his "Evil Empire" speech in an address to the National Association of Evangelicals. The speech denounced the Soviet Union and called for the end of its totalitarian and expansionist policies.
Mar 23, 1983
Regan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). SDI called for a space-based laser weapons system capable of defending the United States and Western Europe from a Soviet nuclear missile attack.
Oct 23, 1983
Suicide bombers attacked the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. Marines. The Marines subsequently withdrew from Lebanon.
Oct 25, 1983
Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada, a small Caribbean island, to liberate it from a Cuban-influenced government and protect American college students there. The invasion force later found Cuban plans to use the island as a supply base for leftist Colombian and Venezuelan guerrillas.
Nov 2, 1983
Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a national holiday.
| 