Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) - 40th President of the United States and 33rd Governor of California. Also known as an actor and radio host.
There are many interesting facts in Reagan's biography, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Ronald Reagan.
Reagan's biography
Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in the American village of Tampico (Illinois). He grew up and was raised in a simple family of John Edward and Nell Wilson. In addition to Ronald, a boy named Neil was born in the Reagan family.
When the future president was about 9 years old, he and his family moved to the city of Dixon. It is worth noting that the Reagans often changed their place of residence, as a result of which Ronald had to change several schools.
During his school years, the boy showed a keen interest in sports and acting, and also mastered the skills of a storyteller. He played for the local football team, showing a high level of play.
In 1928, Ronald Reagan graduated from High School. During the holidays, he managed to win a sports scholarship and become a student at Eureka College, choosing the Faculty of Economics and Sociology. Receiving rather mediocre grades, he actively participated in public life.
Later, Ronald was entrusted to head the student government. During this time in his biography, he continued to play American football. In the future, he will say the following: “I did not play baseball because I had poor eyesight. For this reason, I started playing football. There is a ball and bigger guys. "
Reagan's biographers claim that he was a religious person. There is a known case when he brought black compatriots to his house, which was a real nonsense for that time.
Hollywood career
When Ronald turned 21, he got a job as a sports radio commentator. After 5 years, the guy left for Hollywood, where he began to cooperate with the famous film company "Warner Brothers".
In subsequent years, the young actor starred in many films, the number of which exceeds 50. He was a member of the Screen Actors Guild of the United States, where he is remembered for his activity. In 1947 he was entrusted with the position of President of the Guild, which he held until 1952.
After completing military courses in absentia, Reagan was included in the army reserve. He was awarded the rank of Lieutenant in the Cavalry Corps. Since he had poor vision, the commission released him from military service. Consequently, during the Second World War (1939-1945) he worked in the film production department, where training films for the army were filmed.
When his film career began to decline, Ronald landed the role of TV host on the television series General Electrics. In the 1950s, his political preferences began to change. If earlier he was a supporter of liberalism, now his beliefs have become more conservative.
The beginning of a political career
Initially, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic Party, but after revising his political views, he began to support the ideas of Republicans Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. During his tenure at General Electric, he spoke to employees on several occasions.
In his speeches, Reagan focused on political issues, which caused discontent among leaders. As a result, this led to his dismissal from the company in 1962.
A couple of years later, Ronald took part in Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign, delivering his famous "Time to Choose" speech. An interesting fact is that his performance helped Barry raise about $ 1 million! In addition, his compatriots and representatives from the Republican Party drew attention to the young politician.
In 1966, Reagan was promoted to the post of governor of California. During the election campaign, he promised to return all idlers who are supported by the state to work. In the elections, he received the most support from local voters, becoming governor of the state on January 3, 1967.
The following year, Ronald decided to participate in the presidential race, finishing in 3rd place after Rockefeller and Nixon, the latter of whom became the head of the United States. Many Americans associate Reagan's name with the brutal crackdown on protesters in Berkeley Park, known as Bloody Thursday, when thousands of police and National Guardsmen were sent to disperse the protesters.
An attempt to recall Ronald Reagan in 1968 failed, as a result of which he was re-elected for a second term. At this time of the biography, he called for a decrease in state influence over the economy, and also sought to reduce taxes.
Presidency and assassination
In 1976, Reagan lost the party elections to Gerald Ford, but after 4 years he again nominated his own candidacy. His main opponent was the incumbent head of state Jimmy Carter. After a bitter political struggle, the former actor managed to win the presidential race and become the oldest President of the United States.
During his time in power, Ronald carried out a number of economic reforms, as well as changes in the country's policy. He managed to raise the morale of his compatriots, who learned to rely more on themselves and not on the state.
An interesting fact is that the man kept diaries published in the book "The Reagan Diaries". This work has gained incredible popularity.
In March 1981, Reagan was assassinated in Washington while he was leaving the hotel. A certain John Hinckley ran out of the crowd, having managed to execute 6 shots towards the president. As a result, the offender wounded 3 people. Reagan himself was wounded in the lung by a bullet ricocheting off a nearby car.
The politician was urgently taken to the hospital, where the doctors managed to carry out a successful operation. The shooter was found mentally ill and sent to a clinic for compulsory treatment.
An interesting fact is that earlier Hinckley planned to kill Jimmy Carter, hoping in this way to attract the attention of the film actress Jodie Foster, whom he loved.
Domestic and foreign policy
Reagan's internal policy was based on cutting social programs and helping business. The man also achieved tax cuts and increased funding for the military complex. In 1983, the American economy began to strengthen. During 8 years of reign, Reagan achieved the following results.
- inflation in the country fell by almost three times;
- the number of unemployed has decreased;
- increased appropriation;
- the top tax rate fell from 70% to 28%.
- increased GDP growth;
- windfall profits tax has been abolished;
- high indicators have been achieved in the fight against drug trafficking.
The president's foreign policy caused a mixed reaction in society. On his orders, in October 1983, US troops invaded Grenada. 4 years before the invasion, a coup d'etat took place in Grenada, during which the power was taken by the supporters of Marxism-Leninism.
Ronald Reagan explained his actions by a possible threat in the face of the Soviet-Cuban military construction in the Caribbean. After several days of hostilities in Grenada, a new government was established, after which the US army left the country.
Under Reagan, the Cold War escalated and large-scale militarization was carried out. the National Endowment for Democracy was founded with the goal of "encouraging peoples' aspirations for democracy."
During the second term, diplomatic relations between Libya and the United States remained tense. The reason for this was the incident in the Gulf of Sidra in 1981, and then the perfect terrorist attack in a Berlin disco, which killed 2 and wounded 63 American soldiers.
Reagan said the disco bombings were ordered by the Libyan government. This led to the fact that on April 15, 1986, a number of ground targets in Libya were subjected to aerial bombardment.
Later, there was a scandal "Iran-Contra" associated with the secret supply of weapons to Iran to support anti-communist guerrillas in Nicaragua, which received wide publicity. The president was involved in it, along with a number of other high-ranking officials.
When Mikhail Gorbachev became the new head of the USSR, relations between the countries began to gradually improve. In 1987, the presidents of the two superpowers signed an important agreement to eliminate medium-range nuclear weapons.
Personal life
Reagan's first wife was actress Jane Wyman, who was 6 years younger than him. In this marriage, the couple had two children - Maureen and Christina, who died in early childhood.
In 1948, the couple adopted a boy, Michael, and separated that same year. It is curious that Jane was the initiator of the divorce.
After that, Ronald married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress. This union turned out to be long and happy. Soon the couple had a daughter, Patricia, and a son, Ron. It is worth noting that Nancy's relationship with children was extremely difficult.
It was especially difficult for a woman to communicate with Patricia, for whom the conservative views of her parents, Republicans, were alien. Later, the girl will publish many anti-Reagan books, and will also be a member of various anti-government movements.
Death
In late 1994, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which haunted him for the next 10 years of his life. Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at the age of 93. The cause of death was pneumonia due to Alzheimer's disease.
Reagan Photos
