Ronald Reagan

The 40th President of the United States was born in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911. Ronald Wilson Reagan served two terms as President of the United States. His career spanned television and film star to the California's governor. Reagan served five years as the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1947 ?€“ 1955).

Reagan was a standup comic at the Ramona Room in Las Vegas, Nevada and was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1989. His movie credits include The Winning Team in 1952, This is the Army 1943, Knute Rochne All American in 1940, Kings Row in 1942 and Prisoner of War in 1954.

In the late 1940s Reagan's career was at a standstill but his agent Lew Wasserman developed a tax ploy to turn actors in to corporations and provide Reagan good parts. Reagan hosted General Electric Theater in 1953 until 1961 due to his agent. He also hosted Death Valley Days on television and was endorsed by Hollywood and his agent Wasserman for governor and then president. Reagan purchased 688 acres of land in the Santa Ynes Valley, sold off all but 200 acres and his bank account flourished.

Reagan was known for his one-liners and the most famous was "Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall", referring to the wall between East and West Berlin. This made a huge impact on the course of history. He was instrumental in expanding the military, reinvigorating American morale and the economy and reduced American's reliance on government. He survived an assassination attempt, fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers, and implemented supply-side economics. He cut taxes and introduced the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. He created jobs and reduced the number of tax brackets to 4.

Raegan was Governor of California from January 1967 until January 1975. He was the 40th president of the United States from January 1981 to January 1989. Reagan was awarded the United States Congressional Gold Medal for ending the Cold War and his wife Nancy received the medal for fighting substance abuse in America's youth. Reagan was married to Jane Wyman in 1950 until 1948. They had three children. He then married Nancy Reagan in 1952 and they were married until his death in 2004. They had two children. Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004 from complications of Alzheimer's.