Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/ RAY-gən; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician, union leader, and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975, and the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and 1959 to 1960.

Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. He graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began to work as a sports announcer in Iowa. In 1937, Reagan moved to California, where he found work as a film actor. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild, working to root out alleged communist influence within it. In the 1950s, he moved to a career in television and became a spokesman for General Electric. From 1959 to 1960, he again served as the guild’s president. In 1964, Reagan’s speech “A Time for Choosing” earned him national attention as a new conservative figure. He was elected governor of California in 1966. During his governorship, he raised taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and challenged student protesters by ordering in National Guard troops.

After challenging and nearly defeating sitting president Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan easily won the Republican nomination in the 1980 presidential election and went on to defeat incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter. Early in his presidency, Reagan began implementing his economic and political policies. His supply-side economics policies, dubbed “Reaganomics“, promoted economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending. He transitioned Cold War policy from détente to rollback by escalating an arms race with the Soviet Union. He also survived an assassination attempt, fought public sector labor unions, spurred the war on drugs, and ordered an invasion of Grenada. Reagan was overwhelmingly reelected in 1984, defeating Walter Mondale.

Foreign affairs dominated Reagan’s second term, including the bombing of Libya, the Iran–Iraq War, the Iran–Contra affair, and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The talks culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. By the end of Reagan’s presidency in 1989, the American economy had seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate had fallen, and the United States was in its then-longest peacetime expansion. During his post-presidency, Reagan was hindered by Alzheimer’s disease. He died at his home in Los Angeles in 2004. His tenure constituted the Reagan era, and he is often considered a prominent conservative figure in the United States. Evaluations of his presidency among historians and the general public place him among the upper tier of American presidents.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Question of the Day

What is the diameter of Earth, and how does it compare to that of Venus?

Earth’s diameter is 7,928 miles. Venus is slightly smaller, with a diameter of 7,523 miles.

Advice of the Day

To prevent bad luck, never shake out a tablecloth after dark.

Home Hint of the Day

Before using a power sander to strip an old floor, use a hammer and nail set to set any protruding nail heads below the surface. This will reduce the risk of tearing the expensive sand paper.

Word of the Day

Chockablock

Hoisted as high as the tackle will admit; brought close together, as the two blocks of a tackle in hoisting.

Puzzle of the Day

Why is summer like the letter N?

Because it makes ice nice.

Born

• Alexander Hamilton (statesman & founding father) – 1757
• Sir John A. Macdonald (Canadian prime minister) – 1815
• Alice Paul (lawyer) – 1885
• Alan Stewart Paton (author) – 1903
• Manfred B. Lee (mystery writer) – 1905
• Jean Chrétien (Canadian prime minister) – 1934
• Clarence Clemons (musician) – 1942
• Naomi Judd (country music singer) – 1946
• Ben Crenshaw (golfer) – 1952
• Darryl Dawkins (basketball player) – 1957
• Mary J. Blige (singer) – 1971
• Amanda Peet (actress) – 1972

Died

• Francis Scott Key (composer) – 1843
• Gail Borden (developed condensed milk) – 1874
• Sir Edmund Hillary (one of the first to summit Mt. Everest) – 2008

Events

• Alabama seceded from the Union– 1861
• Milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time, Brooklyn, NY– 1878
• Hudson Motor Company unveiled the first sedan-type car– 1913
• Pioneer aviatrix Amelia Earhart became the first woman to pilot solo from Hawaii to Mainland USA. She took off from Honolulu, reaching Oakland, CA, in 18 1/4 hours– 1935
• India and Pakistan annouced the designation of an exact border between the two countries to eliminate clashes– 1960
• The forerunner of the discotheques, the Whiskey A-Go-Go, opened on Sunset strip in Los Angeles, California and became the launching pad for many unkown stars like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and Otis Redding– 1963
• Dr. Luther Terry, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued the first government report saying that smoking was hazardous to one’s health– 1964
• Baseball’s American League adopted the designated hitter” rule which allows another player to bat for the pitcher”– 1973
• National Ballet of Canada founder, Celia Franca, retired.– 1974
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control published evidence that AIDS can be transmitted through blood tranfusions– 1984
• President Reagan bade the nation farewell in a nationally broadcast address from the Oval Office– 1989
• A 4.3-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California– 2010
• A 17-pound 1-ounce ocean whitefish was caught at Hurricane Bank, off California and Mexico– 2011

Weather

• Charleston, South Carolina, experienced a sudden change in temperature on January 10. The mercury dropped from 70F to 26F and sank to 15F by the morning of January 11.– 1745
• Two-day blizzard began in Midwest, 1918– 1918
• Chinook winds warmed an Arctic air mass over Great Falls, Montana, raising temperatures from -32°F to 15°F in 7 minutes.– 1980
• A chilly 32 degrees F, Orlando, Florida– 1982
• 25.3 inches of snow fell in 24 hours in Buffalo, NY– 1982
• Five degrees below zero F in Atlanta, Georgia– 1982
• 75 mph wind gusts at Yankton, South Dakota– 1990

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