Ronald Reagan - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com Google Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois , to Edward “Jack” Reagan (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, and Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). The family, which included older son Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided in an apartment that lacked indoor plumbing and running water and was located along the small town’s main street. Reagan’s father nicknamed him Dutch as a baby, saying he resembled “a fat little Dutchman.” Did You Know? Among the items on display at Ronald Reagan's presidential library in California is a 6,000-pound graffiti-covered section of the Berlin Wall, given to him by the people of Berlin. During Reagan’s early childhood, his family lived in a series of Illinois towns as his father switched sales jobs, then settled in Dixon, Illinois, in 1920. In 1928, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School, where he was an athlete and student body president and performed in school plays.

During summer vacations, he worked as a lifeguard in Dixon. Reagan went on to attend Eureka College in Illinois, where he played football, ran track, captained the swim team, served as student council president and acted in school productions. After graduating in 1932, he found work as a radio sports announcer in Iowa . Ronald Reagan’s Hollywood Career and Marriages In 1937, while in Southern California to cover the Chicago Cubs’ spring training season, Ronald Reagan did a screen test for the Warner Brothers movie studio. The studio signed him to a contract, and that same year he made his film debut in “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news reporter. Over the next three decades he appeared in more than 50 movies.

Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical film “Knute Rockne All American.” In the movie, Reagan’s famous line–which he is still rememberd for–was “Win one for the Gipper.” Another notable role was in 1942 in “Kings Row,” in which Reagan portrayed an accident victim who wakes up to discover his legs have been amputated and cries out, “Where’s the rest of me?” (Reagan used this line as the title of his 1965 autobiography.) In 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman (1917-2007), with whom he had daughter Maureen (1941-2001) and an adopted son, Michael (1945-). The couple divorced in 1948 (Reagan is the only U.S. president to have been divorced). In 1952, he married actress Nancy Davis (1921-). The pair had two children, Patricia (1952-) and Ronald (1958-).

During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified from combat duty due to poor eyesight and spent his time in the Army making training films. From 1947 to 1952, and from 1959 to 1960, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), during which time he testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committe ( HUAC ). From 1954 to 1962, he hosted the weekly television drama series “The General Electric Theater.” In this role, he toured the United States as a public relations representative for General Electric, giving pro-business talks in which he spoke out against too much government control and wasteful spending, central themes of his future political career. Golden State Governorship and Bid for the Presidency In his younger years, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic Party and campaigned for Democratic candidates; however, his views grew more conservative over time, and in the early 1960s he officially became a Republican.

In 1964, Reagan stepped into the national political spotlight when he gave a well-received televised speech for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), a prominent conservative. Two years later, in his first race for public office, Reagan defeated Democratic incumbent Edmund “Pat” Brown Sr. (1905-1996) by almost 1 million votes to win the governorship of California. Reagan was reelected to a second term in 1970. After making unsuccessful bids for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976, Reagan received his party’s nod in 1980. In that year’s general election, he and running mate George H.W. Bush (1924-) faced off against President Jimmy Carter (1924-) and Vice President Walter Mondale (1928-). Reagan won the election by an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 percent of the popular vote. At age 69, he was the oldest person elected to the U.S. presidency.

1981 Inauguration and Assassination Attempt Ronald Reagan was sworn into office on January 20, 1981. In his inaugural address, Reagan famously said of America’s then-troubled economy, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” After the more informal Carter years, Reagan and his wife Nancy ushered in a new era of glamour in the nation’s capital, which became known as Hollywood on the Potomac. The first lady wore designer fashions, hosted numerous state dinners and oversaw a major redecoration of the White House . Just over two months after his inauguration, on March 30, 1981, Reagan survived an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. (1955-), a man with a history of psychiatric problems, outside a hotel in Washington , D.C. The gunman’s bullet pierced one of the president’s lungs and narrowly missed his heart. Reagan, known for his good-natured humor, later told his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Within several weeks of the shooting, Reagan was back at work.

Ronald Reagan’s Domestic Agenda On the domestic front, President Ronald Reagan implemented policies to reduce the federal government’s reach into the daily lives and pocketbooks of Americans, including tax cuts intended to spur growth (known as Reaganomics). He also advocated for increases in military spending, reductions in certain social programs and measures to deregulate business. By 1983, the nation’s economy had started to recover and enter a period of prosperity that would extend through the rest of Reagan’s presidency. Critics maintained that his policies led to budget deficits and a more significant national debt; some also held that his economic programs favored the rich. In 1981, Reagan made history by appointing Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-) as the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ronald Reagan and Foreign Affairs In foreign affairs, Ronald Reagan’s first term in office was marked by a massive buildup of U.S.

weapons and troops, as well as an escalation of the Cold War (1946-1991) with the Soviet Union, which the president dubbed “the evil empire.” Key to his administration’s foreign policy initiatives was the Reagan Doctrine, under which America provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to develop space-based weapons to protect America from attacks by Soviet nuclear missiles. Also on the foreign affairs front, Reagan sent 800 U.S. Marines to Lebanon as part of an international peacekeeping force after Israel invaded that nation in June 1982. In October 1983, suicide bombers attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans. That same month, Reagan ordered U.S. forces to lead an invasion of Grenada, an island in the Caribbean, after Marxist rebels overthrew the government. In addition to the problems in Lebanon and Grenada, the Reagan administration had to deal with an ongoing contentious relationship between the United States and Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (1942-).

During his second term, Reagan forged a diplomatic relationship with the reform-minded Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-), who became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. In 1987, the Americans and Soviets signed a historic agreement to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. That same year, Reagan spoke at Germany’s Berlin Wall , a symbol of communism, and famously challenged Gorbachev to tear it down. Twenty-nine months later, Gorbachev allowed the people of Berlin to dismantle the wall. After leaving the White House, Reagan returned to Germany in September 1990—just weeks before Germany was officially reunified–and took several symbolic swings with a hammer at a remaining chunk of the wall. 1984 Reelection and Iran-Contra Affair In November 1984, Ronald Reagan was reelected in a landslide, defeating Walter Mondale and his running mate Geraldine Ferraro (1935-), the first female vice-presidential candidate from a major U.S. political party.

Reagan, who announced it was “morning again in America,” carried 49 out of 50 states in the election and received 525 out of 538 electoral votes, the largest number ever won by an American presidential candidate. Ronald Reagan’s Later Years After leaving the White House in January 1989, Ronald Reagan and his wife returned to California, where they lived in Los Angeles. In 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum opened in Simi Valley, California. In November 1994, Reagan revealed in a handwritten letter to the American people that he had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly a decade later, on June 5, 2004, he died at his Los Angeles home at age 93, making him the nation’s longest-lived president (in 2006, Gerald Ford surpassed him for this title). Reagan was given a state funeral in Washington, D.C., and later buried on the grounds of his presidential library. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today.

Tags Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Overview At the end of two terms in office, President Ronald Reagan left his legacy, the Reagan Revolution (Reaganomics = or supply-side economics). In Reagan's words, "government is the problem." His economic policies were intended to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance on government entitlements. He believed he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism." However, many argue that Reagan's finest achievement was to engineer the West's victory in the Cold War. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed February 6th "Ronald Reagan Day." The date chosen was one day after Reagan's death. A proclamation read in part: "Ronald Reagan was the quintessential American patriot, an eternal optimist who led our nation with unmatched courage, soul and wit. With invigorating energy, he set out to accomplish daunting tasks laden with grave risks, but great rewards.

For this, our nation's 40th president became a hero, not only in the eyes of Americans, but to people in every corner of the globe who were looking to be led with unyielding strength and vision." Youth and education Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911. Reagan was the son of a shoe salesman. Said Reagan, "We didn't live on the wrong side of the tracks, but close enough to hear the train whistles." He graduated from high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Reagan was also a construction worker and a lifeguard. Upon graduation in 1932, he became a radio sports announcer in Des Moines, Iowa. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood . He headed for California, where he enjoyed a successful, if mediocre, career in movies and television. After serving in the air force during World War II , he returned to acting.

During the following two decades he appeared in 53 films and became known as "the Errol Flynn of the B-movies." Family man His first marriage to actress Jane Wyman produced two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen died in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis , also an actor, and they had two children, Patricia and Ronald. Nancy was a well-regarded First Lady and visible Reagan supporter throughout their life together. Nancy Reagan's eight years as First Lady passed through three distinct stages: an initial period as a party hostess, refurbishing the White House living quarters, and expanding the White House dinnerware collection. In the second phase, she became more active in such social causes as the "Just Say No!" anti-drug campaign. In a final phase, she became protective of her husband during the Iran-Contra scandal . A devoted couple, the Reagans helped each other through the best and worst of times. Nancy helped to revive her husband's fighting spirit while he recovered from a gunshot wound in 1981, following an assassination attempt. She was at his side as he recovered from surgeries in July 1985 and January 1987.

In retirement, the two former actors returned to their California ranch. The Reagans enjoyed a peaceful retirement. That time was made difficult, however, when the former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative brain affliction. Conversion to conservatism Young Reagan came to Hollywood in 1937 and three years later played George Gipp in his most acclaimed film, Knute Rockne ï¿½ All American. Reagan was a Democrat who gave his name and time to groups promoting liberal policies at home and abroad. But as the Cold War began, the FBI suspected that some of those groups included Communist Party members trying to promote the Soviet cause. As Reagan recalled in his memoir, An American Life, FBI agents approached him in 1946 to share their information about the communist effort to infiltrate Hollywood. Reagan's book suggests that the visit and other discussions with FBI agents inspired him to fight communism, which led him to run for president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and "indirectly ... set me on the road that would lead me to politics." Reagan eventually served as SAG president, and during his tenure, he became active in politics.

The Republican Party was impressed by his political views and charisma, and Reagan, who had not held public office before, was elected governor of California in 1966 with their backing. Reagan was the only California governor to become president of the United States. As president of SAG, Reagan had become embroiled in disputes over the issue of communism in the film industry. He was called upon to testify (with Walt Disney ) before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). His political views shifted from liberal to conservative during that period. He toured the country as a television host, and became a spokesman for conservatism and anti-communism. Over the years, Reagan and the FBI engaged each other through a series of contacts that catalyzed his political metamorphosis. Thirty-third governor of California ï¿½ (1967-1974) Those were the Sixties and early Seventies, memorable for civil rights and antiwar agitation, rock 'n roll, drug experimentation and abuse, long hair and ragged clothes. California was a magnet for disenfranchised dreamers. They came in droves, they came on the bus and train, they hitchhiked from ï¿½Everytown" USA.

Popular rock performers, much like the legendary Pied Piper, lyrically promised, (Scott MacKenzie tune), "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." And they came, euphoric and hopeful for a different world, but most were quickly disillusioned and went home. Some tried the rural subsistence lifestyle, but most became disillusioned with that because it was tough work. On January 2, 1967, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the governor of California. In 1966, he was elected by a margin of a million votes and was reelected in 1970. During his term, he confronted students at the University of California Berkeley, considered by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to be a communist hotbed. UC Berkeley was considered by most political observers to be the home of the American Free Speech Movement , and the administration employed avowed communists as instructors. One of them, an African-American teacher named Angela Davis, defiantly taught an accredited class on communism on the UC campus. Civil rights , antiwar , Free Speech and " Black Power" leaders, most of them not enrolled, spoke freely and agitated on the UC Berkeley campus.

Charismatic Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, Malcom X and Stokely Carmichael were among those leaders who motivated vociferous students to civil disobediance and defiance. Desecration of American flags, burning of draft cards and bras, street marches, riots and "sit-ins" became almost customary occurrences on the UC campus and in the city of Berkeley. Drug use, destruction of campus property and off-campus private property were commonplace. For the majority of the population who were not ï¿½in the groove," Berkeley became known as ï¿½Berserkley." During a "People's Park" (a geographical flash point for protest) demonstration, Reagan dispatched 2,200 National Guard soldiers to the Berkeley campus. He made it plain that his administration's policies would not be influenced by student protestors. During Reagan's first term, he froze government hiring, but also sanctioned tax raises to balance the budget. Also during his governorship, Reagan dismantled the public psychiatric hospital system, advocating instead a community-based housing and treatment system to supplant it. Critics argued that not enough state funding was devoted to the change. In 1979, Reagan lost a longtime friend and fellow conservative, John Wayne , from stomach cancer.

Fortieth president of the United States - (1981-1989) Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate a former CIA chief, Texas congressman and United Nations ambassador, George H.W. Bush . Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of American hostages in Iran , swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter in the election of 1980 . Reagan took office on January 20, 1981. Just 69 days later, he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar. America in the throes of change. America's commercial, industrial and social sectors had been rapidly evolving from changes spawned in the decades following World War II. Tremendous pressures had built up by the time Reagan took office. Factories continued to close across America, being replaced by "outsourcing" in foreign countries that offered lower business costs and cheaper labor.

Moving the factories offshore was a counter-strategy by business and industry leaders who refused to countenance the ongoing demands of American labor unions. Hundreds of thousands of Americans had been thrown into unemployment and many became homeless as well. Concurrently, the personal computer was born, to be followed by the computer revolution in businesses, schools and homes across America and Europe, followed by the rest of the world. Such controversial federal policies as Affirmative Action (some called it "reverse discrimination"), sought to inject racial and gender equality into many aspects of American life, especially college enrollment and workplace hiring practices. The rise in drug abuse and addiction became epidemic, followed by a rise in crime (aggravated by illegal drugs), which overcrowded America's prisons. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS bowled its way into the American mainstream, costing many lives and billions of dollars (not including the disease's foreign impact). Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen the national military muscle . He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the cost of bolstering defense forces led to huge deficits . The SALT treaty with Soviet Russia had failed.

A new treaty called " START " was created in 1983. The election of 1984 was a contest between incumbent Reagan and former vice president Walter Mondale. Reagan's running mate was George Bush again. The president was popular, partly because his first term had seen the beginning of a strong economic boom and a resurgence of American military strength. Mondale was unable to deflect those positives or Reagan's charisma, and lost in every state in the union except for his home state of Minnesota. The Reagan Cabinet contained some controversial members. Most memorable was the brusque, outspoken Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. (1981-1982), who had stepped in to front for Richard M. Nixon during the latter's desperate final days in office (1975). Interior Secretary James G. Watt (1981-1983), who is remembered chiefly for his hostility to the environmental movement and support of the development and use of federal lands by foresting, ranching and other commercial interests, was forced to resign following a controversial ethnic quip.ï¿½ Foreign Policy. Europe. Margaret Thatcher was the British prime minister during the Reagan era.

Thatcher was a close ally and friend of Reagan's, and both were tough conservatives. The two politicians affected 1980s politics worldwide. He was president for eight years; she was PM for 11 years. Thatcher was the first national leader to visit him after his inauguration in 1981, and their rapport helped to transform the East-West standoff. The Reagan era is remembered most for his conservative economic reforms and Cold War success. The cradle of the Cold War (1946-1989) was West Germany and the Berlin Wall . Reagan's historic speech at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987, was the harbinger marking the coming end of the Cold War when he demanded, ï¿½Mr. Gorbachev , tear down this wall!" The Middle East. Harry S. Truman 's administration advocated " containment ," a historic direct confrontation with the " Domino Theory "ï¿½ of communist hegemony, and three presidential successors maintained it. But it was Reagan who prophetically saw that the time had come to tighten containment and finally destroy Soviet Communism. Like Franklin D.

Roosevelt before him, he sought to destroy an "evil empire," not just contain it. Despite such developments as the U.S.-Palestine Liberation Organization dialog, the Pollard spy case in December 1986, and the Israeli rejection of the Shultz peace initiative in the spring of 1988, pro-Israeli organizations in the United States characterized the Reagan administration (and the 100th Congress) as the "most pro-Israel ever" and praised the positive overall tone of bilateral relations. Irangate. The Iran-Contra Affair, in which U.S. arms were sold to Iran to secure the release of American hostages and fund so-called "Freedom Fighters" in Nicaragua, was a mid-1980s political scandal during Reagan's second term. Many consider his prevarications during the scandal to be the low point of his presidency. Epilogue Reagan's leadership brought the international nightmare of the Cold War to a conclusion. Many historians aver that he also restored a sense of honor and trust to the White House, which had been so tarnished by the events in the years that preceded his taking office, including the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers , and the Watergate scandal .

Ronald Reagan had refashioned the American presidency. The former president died of pneumonia as a complication of Alzheimer's disease, on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93. He had announced in 1994 that he was suffering from the disease. Reagan's wife and two of their children, Ronald Jr. and Patty Davis, were with him when he died. ï¿½Knute Rockne was the most highly acclaimed football star of the 20th century's first half. ï¿½"We have every mixture you can have. I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." - James G. Watt, describing his staff profile to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on September 21, 1983. ï¿½Containment refers to the strategy to thwart communist expansion. The Domino Theory holds that when communism swallows a country, nearby countries are weakened and eventually topple. ---- Selected Quotes ---- Ronald Reagan Timeline The Life of Ronald Reagan: A Timeline Feb. 6, 1911 Ronald Wilson Reagan is born in Tampico, Ill., to Nelle Wilson Reagan and John Edward Reagan.

The Reagans already had one previous son, Neil. 1920 After a series of moves in rural northern Illinois, the Reagans settle in Dixon, Ill., which Reagan considered his hometown. Ronald Reagan as a lifeguard in 1927. Photo: Reagan Presidential Library 1926 Reagan begins work as a lifeguard at Lowell Park, near Dixon. He was credited with saving 77 lives during the seven summers he worked there. 1928 Reagan graduates from Dixon High School, where he was student body president and participated in football, basketball, track, and school plays. 1928-1932 Reagan attends Eureka (Illinois) College, where he majored in economics and sociology. During his sophomore year, Reagan becomes interested in drama. Reagan also serves as student body president. 1932 Reagan receives a temporary sports broadcasting job with WOC, a small radio station in Davenport, Iowa. After WOC consolidates with WHO in Des Moines, "Dutch" recreates Chicago Cubs baseball games from the studio. WHO, an NBC affiliate, gives Reagan national media exposure.

1937 Reagan enlists in the Army Reserve as a private but is soon promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry. An agent for Warner Brothers "discovers" Reagan in Los Angeles and offers him a seven-year contract. 1940 Reagan plays Notre Dame football legend George Gipp in his most acclaimed film, Knute Rockne, All American, The role earns Reagan the nickname "the Gipper." Reagan marries actress Jane Wyman, whom he met while making the movie Brother Rat. Jan. 4, 1941 Daughter Maureen is born. 1942 Reagan is called to active duty by the Army Air Force. He is assigned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, Calif., where he makes over 400 training films. 1945 After the war, Reagan resumes his acting career, which continues for 20 years. Reagan makes 53 motion pictures and one television movie during his career. March 1945 The Reagans adopt Michael.

1947 Elected president of the Screen Actors Guild for the first of five consecutive terms, Reagan testifies as a friendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The hearings result in the blacklising of many writers and directors thought to have ties to the Communist Party. 1948 Reagan supports Harry Truman for president. 1949 Reagan and Wyman divorce. 1950 Reagan campaigns for California Democrat Helen Gahagan Douglas in her bid for the U.S. Senate against Richard Nixon. 1952 Reagan campaigns as a Democrat for Eisenhower. Newlyweds Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1952. Photo: Reagan Presidential Library Reagan and movie actress Nancy Davis wed. Oct. 21, 1952 Daughter Patricia (Patti) is born. 1954 Reagan is hired to host the General Electric Theater on television, a job he holds for eight years. Reagan tours the country giving speeches as a GE spokesman. 1956 Reagan campaigns as a Democrat for President Dwight Eisenhower's re-election. May 20, 1958 Son Ronald Prescott (Ron) is born. 1960 Reagan campaigns as a Democrat for Richard Nixon for president.

1962 Reagan officially changes his party registration to Republican. Oct. 27, 1964 Reagan gives a television address supporting Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. The speech, called "A Time for Choosing," launches Reagan's political career. Watch or listen to that speech. 1965 Reagan's autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me? -- the title is a line from his 1942 movie King's Row -- is published. 1966 Reagan defeats incumbent California Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown in a landslide. 1968 Reagan makes a tentative run for the presidency, waiting until the Republican National Convention in Miami to announce his candidacy. He later joins in supporting nominee Richard Nixon. 1969 Reagan sends in the National Guard to break up protests at the University of California at Berkeley after university officials block activists' efforts to create a "Peoples Park". 1970 Reagan is re-elected California governor. 1974 For several months after his gubernatorial term ends, Reagan writes a syndicated newspaper column and provides commentaries on radio stations across the country. Nov. 20, 1975 Reagan announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.

1976 He loses the Republican Party's nomination to Gerald Ford, but a strong showing sets the stage for Reagan's election in 1980. In the meantime, Reagan works on his ranch, gives speeches, does radio commentaries and writes a weekly newspaper column. Hear Reagan's comments after narrowly losing the 1976 Republican nomination . Nov. 13, 1979 Reagan announces his candidacy for president. After winning the party's nomination, he chooses George Bush as his running mate. The platform calls for "a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom." Nov. 4, 1980 Reagan is elected president in a landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter. Ronald and Nancy Reagan wave at inaugural parade in 1981. Photo: Reagan Presidential Library Jan. 20, 1981 Reagan is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. On the same day, Iran releases the 52 remaining hostages who had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.

March 30, 1981 Reagan is shot in the chest upon leaving a Washington hotel but makes a full recovery after surgery. Three other people, including Reagan press secretary James Brady, are wounded in the assassination attempt. John Hinckley Jr. is charged but found not guilty by reason of insanity. April 28, 1981 Reagan appears before Congress for the first time since the assassination attempt. He receives a hero's welcome and overwhelming support for his economic package, which includes cuts in social programs and taxes, and increases in defense spending. July 29, 1981 Congress passes Reagan's tax bill. Instead of a 30% tax cut over three years, Reagan accepts 25%. Aug. 3, 1981 Air traffic controllers go on strike. Reagan gives them 48 hours to get back to work, and fires those who refuse. Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Oct. 18, 1981 Reagan concedes that the United States is in "a slight recession" but predicts recovery by the spring. Nov.

10, 1981 Budget Director David Stockman charges that the 5% economic growth rate that the administration had assumed was a "rosy scenario," and pans "supply side" economics as a way to benefit the rich. June 8, 1982 In a speech to the British House of Commons, Reagan predicts "the march of freedom and democracy...will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history ..." Listen to an excerpt of Reagan's remarks on the Soviet Union . Fall 1982 The nation sinks into its worst recession since the Great Depression. Reagan fears budget deficits as high as $200 billion. On Nov. 1, more than 9 million Americans are officially unemployed. Reagan during a 1983 meeting with members of Congress. Photo: Reagan Presidential Library Jan. 31, 1983 Reagan submits his fiscal 1984 budget to Congress. The recession, tax cuts and increased defense outlays are blamed for a projected $189 billion budget gap. Reagan vows to "stay the course," rejecting advice to raise taxes or cut defense.

March 8, 1983 In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, Reagan warns against ignoring "the aggressive impulses of an evil empire," the U.S.S.R. Listen to a highlight of Reagan's comments on the "evil empire" . March 23, 1983 Reagan unveils his proposal for a Strategic Defense Initiative, later dubbed "Star Wars," in a national speech: "I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete." Listen to a key portion of Reagan's SDI speech . Sept. 1, 1983 A Soviet fighter downs Korean Air Lines flight (KAL 007), killing all 269 people aboard, including 61 Americans. Reagan denounces it as a "crime against humanity." Oct. 23, 1983 A suicide truck bomber crashes into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 members of the peacekeeping force. Oct. 25, 1983 U.S.

troops invade Grenada to oust Marxists who had overthrown the government, and to protect U.S. medical students on the Caribbean island. Jan. 16, 1984 Reagan calls for a return to arms talks with the U.S.S.R. May 9, 1984 In a televised speech, Reagan urges helping the Contra "freedom fighters" in Nicaragua. June 6, 1984 Reagan gives an emotional speech in Normandy, France, commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day. July 19, 1984 Walter Mondale accepts the Democratic presidential nomination and promises to raise taxes. Aug. 11, 1984 While checking a microphone prior to a radio broadcast, Reagan jokes: "...I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." In a debate with Mondale, Reagan's poor performance raises the "age issue." Oct. 10, 1984 Congress outlaws funding for military aid to the Nicaragua Contras. Oct. 21, 1984 In his second debate with Mondale, Reagan quips: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign.

I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Nov. 4, 1984 Reagan defeats Mondale in landslide. Reagan carries 49 states -- 525 electoral votes to Mondale's 10, and 59% of the popular vote. Jan. 20, 1985 Listen to Reagan deliver his second inaugural address . June 1985 TWA Flight 847 from Athens is hijacked by terrorists. The pilot is forced to fly to Beirut, where hijackers beat and kill a Navy diver. The plane is flown to Algiers, then back to Beirut again. Most passengers are released; 39 are held captive in Lebanon. Reagan vows that the U.S. will never give in to terrorists' demands. The remaining hostages are freed after 17 days. July 13, 1985 Reagan undergoes surgery for colon cancer and is released from the hospital a week later. Nov. 19, 1985 Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hold a "fireside" summit in Geneva.

The leaders disagree on the Strategic Defense Initiative but pledge to meet again and seek a 50% cut in nuclear arms. Jan. 17, 1986 Reagan undergoes surgery for polyps on his colon. Jan. 28, 1986 The U.S. space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing all on board -- six astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to go into space. April 14, 1986 Reagan orders air strikes against Libya in retaliation for the bombing of a West Berlin disco in which two U.S. servicemen were killed and more than 200 people were injured. Oct. 11, 1986 A Reagan-Gorbachev arms summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, ends without agreement after a rift over SDI. Nov. 13, 1986 Reagan admits sending some defensive weapons and spare parts to Iran but denies it was part of an arms-for-hostages deal. Listen to Reagan's denial of a deal . Nov. 25, 1986 National Security Adviser John Poindexter resigns and national security aide Col.

Oliver North is fired in the widening Iran-Contra affair. In a press conference, Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that $10-$30 million of profits from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran had been diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras. Feb. 26, 1987 The Tower Commission report on Iran-Contra concludes that Reagan's passive management style allowed his staff to mislead him about the trade of arms to Iran for hostages held in Lebanon and to pursue a secret war against the Nicaraguan government. Feb. 27, 1987 Reagan yields to pressure from his advisers (including wife Nancy) to fire Chief of Staff Donald Regan. March 4, 1987 Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan sign a nuclear arms treaty at the White House in 1987. Photo: Reagan Presidential Library December 1987 In a Washington summit, Reagan and Gorbachev sign Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty to eliminate 4% of the superpowers' nuclear arsenals. It is the first U.S.-Soviet treaty to provide for destruction of nuclear weapons and to provide for on-site monitoring of the destruction.

March 16, 1988 Oliver North, John Poindexter, and two others are indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by secretly providing funds and supplies to the Contras. April 14, 1988 The Soviet Union agrees to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. May 5, 1988 In his memoir For the Record, Donald Regan reveals that Nancy Reagan relied on an astrologer to set the dates for her husband's public appearances. May 27, 1988 The Senate ratifies the INF treaty, the first arms-control agreement since 1972's Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) to receive Senate approval. Nov. 8, 1988 Vice President George Bush defeats Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis to become the 41st president of the United States. Jan. 11, 1989 Reagan gives his farewell address to the nation, in which he says the so-called Reagan revolution "made a difference." Hear Reagan's farewell address . Jan. 20, 1989 George Bush is inaugurated.

Reagan leaves the White House with the highest approval rating of any president since FDR. Reagan retires to California, travels, meets with various world leaders, and gives public speeches in support of charitable organizations, Republican candidates and causes. September 1989 Reagan undergoes surgery to remove fluid on his brain attributed to an incident a few months earlier in which he was knocked off a horse in Mexico. November 1989 The Berlin Wall comes down, allowing free movement between East and West Germany. February 1990 Reagan gives videotaped testimony in the Iran-Contra trial of former aide John Poindexter. December 1991 The Soviet Union is formally dissolved. Nov. 5, 1994 Reagan discloses in a letter that he has Alzheimer's disease. "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life," he writes. "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead." Read Reagan's letter . January 2001 Reagan undergoes surgery for broken hip he suffers in a fall at his Bel Air, Calif., home. Aug.

8, 2001 Maureen Reagan, Reagan's oldest daughter, dies at 60 after a long struggle with cancer. June 5, 2004 Ronald Reagan dies in California at the age of 93. Sources: Reagan Presidential Library, PBS's The American Experience, PBS Online

Question: Who was Vice President to US President Ronald Reagan during his terms from 1981 to 1989?
Answer: George H W Bush