Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911. He attended Eureka College on an athletic scholarship. He played football, ran track, and he was captain of the swim team. He served as student council president and acted in school productions. After school, he signed a seven year contract with Warner Brothers movie studio and over his lifetime, he appeared in more than 50 films. During his time in Hollywood be served as president of the Screen Actor’s Guild.
He married Jane Wyman and had a daughter, Maureen, and adopted a son, Michael. Jane and Ronald divorced in 1948, during World War II. Reagan was disqualified from combat due to his eyesight, but still reached the rank of Captain before leaving the Army. Ronald and Nancy married in 1952, and they had two children, Ronald and Patricia. After his entertainment career, Reagan served two terms as governor of California.
The cold war came to an end during Reagan’s Presidency. In 1981, Regan removed an embargo that Carter had placed on the Soviet Union. Reagan and Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, held a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the first meeting between the U.S. and Soviet Union since 1979. The leaders met again in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1986. Gorbachev came to Washington, D.C., where he and Reagan signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. Then, Reagan visited the Soviet Union in 1988.
Ronald Reagan nominated the first female justice to the Supreme Court in 1981. Sandra Day O’Connor was confirmed by the senate and served on the Supreme Court until her retirement in 2006. Several publicans have subsequently named O’Connor as one of the most powerful women in the world. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States in 2009 by President Barack Obama.
During Reagan’s presidency, Air Traffic Controllers went on strike with demands that would have cost taxpayers $700 million...