1911-2004 · Actor, governor of California, and fortieth president of the United States
About Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) grew up in small towns in Illinois, worked as a radio sports announcer, and became a Hollywood actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild. A Democrat turned conservative Republican, he served two terms as governor of California (1967-1975) and two as the fortieth president of the United States (1981-1989). His years as a broadcaster made him an unusually effective speaker on radio and television, and his presidency is remembered for tax reform, a military buildup, and the late Cold War diplomacy that led to arms reductions with the Soviet Union.
“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."”
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
On the morning of 28 January 1986 the space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after lifting off from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven of its crew. Among them was Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire high school teacher chosen as the first Teacher in Space, and because of her, millions of schoolchildren were watching in their classrooms.
On 12 June 1987 President Ronald Reagan spoke in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, with the Berlin Wall and the closed gate directly behind his platform. The city was marking its 750th anniversary, and Reagan, on his second visit, addressed Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen, and a large crowd, while also speaking by broadcast to listeners in East Berlin and Eastern Europe.