Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, son of an alcoholic shoe salesman and a devout Disciples of Christ mother. After Eureka College (1932) he became a Chicago Cubs broadcaster, then signed with Warner Bros. in 1937 and made fifty-three films, earning the nickname "the Gipper" in Knute Rockne, All American (1940). He twice served as Screen Actors Guild president, cooperating with FBI and HUAC investigations during the Red Scare.

A New Deal Democrat who called FDR "a true hero", he drifted rightward and registered Republican in 1962. His 1964 speech "A Time for Choosing" for Goldwater launched him nationally. As California governor (1967-75) he balanced the budget with tax hikes, signed the Mulford Act, and deployed the Guard against Berkeley protesters. He crushed Jimmy Carter in 1980, taking office at 69.

Reaganomics applied supply-side economics. The 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act cut income tax rates sharply alongside deregulation and a defence build-up; the national debt tripled by 1989. In August 1981 he fired some 12,000 striking air-traffic controllers. On March 30, 1981 John Hinckley Jr. shot him; he survived and reportedly told surgeons, "Please tell me you're all Republicans."

Abroad he rejected détente, called the USSR an "evil empire" in 1983, pursued the Strategic Defense Initiative, and ordered the 1983 invasion of Grenada. The Iran-Contra affair (1985-87) exposed secret arms sales to Iran with proceeds diverted to the Contras against a congressional ban; the slow AIDS response and support for Central American autocrats drew lasting criticism. After Gorbachev came to power in 1985 he pivoted to summit diplomacy and on June 12, 1987 demanded at the Brandenburg Gate, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" That December they signed the INF Treaty, the first deal to eliminate a class of nuclear weapons. He left office in 1989 with a 63 percent approval rating and died June 5, 2004 aged 93.