Ronald Reagan Biography

Fast Facts

• Was captain of the football team, art director of the yearbook and president of the drama club in high school
• As a teen was credited with saving 77 lives as a lifeguard
• Began work as a radio sports announcer and called games for the Chicago Cubs
• Won a seven-year contract with Warner Bros
• in 1937 after taking a screen test
• Served as a captain in the U
• S
• Army during World War II
• Appeared in 53 movies, including Knute Rockne: All American
• Elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1947
• Elected governor of California in 1966; re-elected in 1970
• Became the 40th U
• S
• president in 1981 and served two terms
• Survived an assassination attempt only 69 days after taking office
• Dubbed the Soviet Union "the evil empire" and implemented the "Reagan Doctrine," which provided aid to anti-communist movements; famously challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall; it was torn down in 1989
• Was gifted as an orator and become known as "The Great Communicator
• "