The year 2011 would have been the 100th birthday of this former president; so, this is a good time for us to look at the timeline of Ronald Reagan's life and presidency to review his life and what he accomplished.
Ronald Reagan: Timeline of His Life
This timeline shows the timeline of Ronald Reagan's life including his presidency and his activities before and after he served as President of the United States.
1911
On February 6 Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois.
1926
In the summer months Reagan worked as a lifeguard at Rock River near Dixon and was credited with saving 77 struggling swimmers.
Reagan graduated from Dixon High School.
1928
In September asks the President of Eureka College for a scholarship.
He attends Eureka College from 1928 to 1932 majoring in economics and sociology.
1932
In June he graduated from Eureka College and moved back to Iowa.
In the fall he broadcasts football games for the University of Iowa and then receives a temporary sports broadcasting job with a radio station in Davenport, Iowa to broadcast Chicago Cubs baseball games.
1937
In xxxxx Reagan has a screen test with Warner Brothers Pictures and receives a seven year contract as an actor.
In April he enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve.
In May he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corp.
1940
On January 24 Reagan married actress Jane Wyman.
1941
In xxxxx Reagan was elected to the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild.
1942
In April Reagan was called to active duty in World War II. He was eventually assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit to film and produce training films for the Army Air Force.
1945
In December Reagan was relieved of active duty in the military and returned to acting.
1947
In xxxx Reagan became the President of the Screen Actors Guild, an office he held through 1952 and then again in 1959.
Reagan testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activites.
1949
In xxxxxxx Jane Wyman divorced Reagan.
In xxxxxx Reagan met Nancy Davis.
1952
Reagan campaigns as a Democrat for Dwight Eisenhower.
In xxxxxx Reagan married Nancy Davis.
1954 - 1962
Reagan was the official spokesperson for the GE Company and host for the television show General Electric Theater.
1962
Reagan officially changes his political party registration to Republican.
1964
On October 27 Reagan gave his televised "A Time for Choosing" speech in support of Barry Goldwater for President.
1966
Reagan was nominated by the Republican Party to run for Governor of California on an anti-liberal platform against the incumbant Democrat Edmund G "Pat" Brown.
In November Reagan was elected as Governor of California.
1967
On January 3, Reagan was sworn in as the Governor of California. He served two terms, through 1975.
1968
In November Reagan ran for President as a means of stopping Nixon from becoming President. He came in third.
1969
Reagan sent in the National Guard to break up protests in People's Park in Berkeley, sending police forces to "crack down" upon the civil disobedience measures being practiced there. Reagan's forces occupied the area for about two weeks.
On xxxx he signed the Therapeutic Abortion Act, which was an effort to reduce dangerous abortions.
1970
Reagan is reelected California governor.
1975
On November 20, Reagan announces that he will be running for the nomination on the Republican ticket for president.
1976
In November Reagan loses the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford, who would later go on to become the President of the United States.
Reagan spends the rest of the year working on his ranch, making speeches and writing a newspaper column.
1979
On November 13, he once again announces that he would run for the Republican ticket for the President. His platform included a strong military, tax cuts and a smaller federal government. This time, he wins the Republican nomination and he choses George Bush to be his vice presidential running mate.
1980
On November 4th, Reagan wins the presidential election. He is up against Jimmy Carter, and Reagan wins by what was called a "landslide."
1981
On January 20, Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States.
On March 30, he is the victim of an assassination attempt. He is shot in the chest, and three other people were wounded. They all survived the incident.
On April 28th, Reagan appears before Congress to get support for his economic plan to cut social program funds and to increase defense spending. He is given a great deal of support.
Reagan's tax bill is passed by Congress on July 29. However, instead of a 30% tax cut, Reagan is asked to lower it to 25%.
In September he appoints Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female justice to the United States Supreme Court.
1982
June 8th Reagan makes a speech to the British House of Commons in which he shows that he clearly does not support the communist and social regimes.
In fall the nation falls into the worst recession since the Great Depression.
On November 1, over nine million Americans are unemployed.
1983
The country remains in economic turmoil.
On January 31, Reagan sends in his fiscal budget for the following year. He is asked to raise taxes and cut defense spending; however, he does not agree with this proposition.
On March 8th Reagan encourages the National Association of Evangelicals to stand up against the communist Soviet Union.
On March 23, Reagan unveils the famous Strategic Defense Initiative, referred to as "Star Wars."
1984
On January 16, Reagan says that there needs to be a call to arms discussion with the Soviet Union.
On May 9, he urges people to help the Contra "freedom fighters" who were trying to overthrow Sandinista in Nicaragua.
On June 6, he presents a speech in honor of the 40th anniversary of D-day.
On July 19th Walter Mondale, significantly younger than Reagan, accepts the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
On November 4, Reagan defeats Mondale in a landslide victory of 525 electoral votes to Mondale's 10.
1985
In January Reagan begins a second term for President at 73, the oldest president ever sworn in.
On July 13, Reagan undergoes surgery for colon cancer.
On November 19, Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet. They do not agree on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), but they do agree to a 50% cut in nuclear spending.
1986
On January 17, Reagan has surgery for polyps on his colon.
In April, he orders air strikes in Libya due to a West Berlin bombing where two U.S. servicemen were killed plus 200 others were injured.
On October 11, Reagan and Gorbachev meet again in Iceland. However, they cannot come to an agreement on SDI.
In November the Iran-Contra affair widens. Reagan admits to sending defensive weapons and spare parts to Iran. Col. Oliver North is fired and Attorney General Edwin Meese announces the $10-$30 million of profits from the sale of U.S. weapons and parts to Iran had been sent to the Nicaraguan Contras.
1987
In February Reagan fires Chief of Staff Donald Regan after the Tower Commisssion concludes that Reagan's staff had mislead him about the trade of arms for Iran in trade for hostages held in Lebanon and the plan to have a secret war against Nicaragua.
On March 4, Reagan says that he did make a mistake in the Iran-Contra issues.
On June 12, Reagan forcefully asked Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" in a speech at Berlin's Brandenberg Gate.
In December, Reagan and Gorbachev sign a treaty to get rid of 4% of the nuclear arsenals and to provide for on-site monitoring of the destruction.
1988
In April the Soviet Union agrees to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
On May 27, the Senate ratified the INF treaty.
On November 8, George Bush defeats Gov. Michael Dukakis to be the 41st president.
1989
On January 11 Reagan gives his farewell address to the nation.
On January 20th George Bush is inaugurated and Reagan leaves the White House with the highest approval rating of any president since FDR.
In November 1989 the Berlin Wall comes down.
1994
On November 5, Reagan announced in a letter that he had Alzheimer's Disease.
2004
On June 5, Reagan dies at home in Bel Air, California after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
You can find more facts about Ronald Reagan's life on YourDictionary.
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By YourDictionary
The year 2011 would have been the 100th birthday of this former president; so, this is a good time for us to look at the timeline of Ronald Reagan's life and presidency to review his life and what he accomplished.
