2. Reaganâs Parents Ronald Reaganâs fatherâs name was John Edward Reagan. He was a struggling shoe salesman. He was also an alcoholic causing the family to move a lot. His motherâs name was Nelle Wilson.
5. He was born in Tampico, Illinois, U.S. Ronald Reagan was the second child of only two. He was born on February 6, 1911. He was born in Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
6. Reaganâs School Years Reagan played football but earned only passing grades. He was a popular student and was elected class president in his senior year. In 1932, he Graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics.
7. Reaganâs Acting Career In 1937 Reagan followed the Cubs to their spring training camp in southern California. A trip he took partly in order to try his hand at movie acting. During the next 27 years, Reagan appeared in more than 50 films.
8. Reagan Gets Married In 1938, while filming Brother Rat, Reagan became engaged to his co-star Jane Wyman, and the couple married in Hollywood on January 26, 1940. They had a daughter, Maureen, in 1941 and they adopted a son, Michael, a few days after his birth in 1945. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948. (Reagan was the only president to have been divorced.)
9. Reagan For Governor Reagan announced his candidacy for governor of California in 1966. Reagan won the election by nearly one million votes. Reagan served two terms as governor from 1967 to 1975.
10. Reagan Gets Re-married Reagan met Nancy Davis, an unknown actress, at a dinner party in 1949. The two were married on March 4, 1952. The Reagans appeared together in the war movie âHell Cats of the Navyâ in 1957.
11. Reagan For President In 1980, Reagan ran for president as a Republican. Reagan fought a strong campaign against George Bush and became the Republican's nominee for President. He chose George Bush to be his running mate. Together they easily beat former president Jimmy Carter making Ronald Reagan the 40th president of the United States.
12. Reagan Gets Shot On March 30, 1981, a man named John W. Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at Reagan as he left a Washington, D.C. hotel. One of the bullets entered Reagan's chest, puncturing a lung and lodging one inch from his heart. He was rushed to George Washington University Hospital for emergency surgery where he was released 12 days later.
13. Reagan Is Re-elected At the time of the presidential election of 1984, Reagan was at the height of his popularity. On election day Reagan and Bush easily defeated their Democratic opponents.
14. After Reaganâs Presidency Reagan retired to his home in Los Angeles. Then on June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan died in Los Angeles, California after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade. He was buried at the âRonald Reagan Presidential Library and Museumâ in Simi Valley, CA.
15. "Honey, I forgot to duck." -to his wife, Nancy, after surviving the assassination attempt-Ronald Reagan