Ronald Reagan, the 40th US president, was the oldest man to become president and the second-longest serving president. He was a Hollywood star and governor of California before becoming president. His eight-year stint involved historical events and politics, including the War on Drugs, the Iran-Contra Affair, the Cold War, and Reaganomics. Reagan was known for his eloquence and humor, earning him the nicknames “The Great Communicator” and “The Teflon® President”. He died at the age of 93 after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease and remains one of the most popular US presidents.
Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, is one of America’s most legendary presidents. Not only was Reagan the oldest man to become president at the time of his election, but when he died he was the second-longest serving president of the United States behind Gerald Ford. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was elected president in 1980, 73 when he was elected to another term in 1984, and lived to be 93.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampica, Illinois. Prior to his roles in Washington, Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild and a Hollywood star. Ronald Reagan starred in a number of films in the late 1930s and 1940s and also on television in the 1950s. His Hollywood roles have earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was also in Hollywood where he met his first wife, actress Jane Wymann and his second wife who became famous and loved, the future First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan.
In 1980, Reagan, who was also the 33rd governor of California, campaigned for the presidency of the United States for the third time. After a failed attempt in the previous two elections, the third time really turned out to be a charm when he won the 1980 election. It was March of the following year, shortly after he took office, when John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate the president Reagan. Shot under the left arm, missing only the heart, he was taken to hospital for surgery.
Reagan, having fully recovered from his injuries despite his age, returned to the White House and his eight-year stint in the Oval Office involved many historical issues, events and politics. Some of these included the War on Drugs, the Iran-Contra Affair, the Cold War and, of course, “Reaganomics,” which was the name coined for what many thought was Ronald Reagan’s unusual economic policies.
Reagan knew how to use words and displayed both eloquence and humor. His public demeanor has earned him the nicknames “The Great Communicator” and “The Teflon® President”. The latter occurred because he had a way of easily and gracefully escaping what some considered to be sticky situations.
Reagan died after a decade-long bout with Alzheimer’s disease on June 5, 2004 at the age of 93. After Reagan’s state funeral, where hundreds of thousands mourned the loss of their former leader, he was buried in California, where the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is located. To this day, Ronald Reagan remains one of the most popular US presidents, as determined by numerous polls.
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