Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampic, Illinois on February 6, 1911.
When he was young he worked as a life guard for seven summers. In that time he made 79 rescues.
Ronald Reagan announced Chicago Cubs games for WHO radio in Des Moines. Later he became a famous movie and television actor.
Reagan was in the military during WWII.
At 73, he was the oldest person ever elected president. (This was his election to his second term.) He was 69 when elected the first time.
Reagan's Vice President was George Bush (1981-1989).
President Reagan was the oldest president in history; he was just shy of his 78th birthday on leaving office.
Reagan was the only professional actor to be elected President.
Reagan's would-be assassin, John Hinkley wanted to assassinate the President to impress actress Jodie Foster. After the assassination attempt he was put in a mental institution.
After John Hinckley tried to kill him, former sportscaster Dutch Reagan, said to his wife: "Honey, I forgot to duck."
A young boy gave Reagan a goldfish which Reagan kept in a fish tank which had the presidential seal on it.
Ronald Reagan was President during the Grenada Invasion, 1983
President Reagan was the first President to appoint a female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
Ronald Reagan was the only President to have been divorced. He was also one of three Presidents who had adopted children.
In 1986, he signed the legislation making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.
One of his most famous speeches was at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987. He demanded "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Ronald Reagan kept a jar of jelly beans on his desk.
He became the first U.S. president to address Japan's legislature.
President Ronald Reagan was twice named "Man of the Year" by Time Magazine.
Ronald loved to ride horses and tend his ranch. He had a King Charles Spaniel named Rex.
In his retirement years he was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's Disease.
President Ronald Reagan died on June 6, 2004. He was 93 at the time of his death.
Sources:
The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/>
Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004
James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002
Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
