Ronald Wilson Reagan
Fortieth President of the United States (1981–1989)
33rd Governor of California (1967–1975)
Radio, Film and Television Actor
33rd Governor of California (1967–1975)
Radio, Film and Television Actor
On ‘God and Democracy’
Biography
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989). Prior to that, he was the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975), and a radio, film and television actor. As president, Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth, controlling the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulation of the economy, and reducing government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, and ordered an invasion of Grenada. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1984, proclaiming that it was "Morning in America". His second term was primarily marked by foreign matters, such as the ending of the Cold War, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the revelation of the Iran-Contra affair. Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire", he supported anti-communist movements worldwide and spent his first term forgoing the strategy of détente by ordering a massive military buildup in an arms race with the USSR. Reagan negotiated with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, culminating in the INF Treaty and the decrease of both countries' nuclear arsenals.Reagan left office in 1989. In 1994, the former president disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier in the year; he died ten years later at the age of 93. A conservative icon, he ranks highly in public opinion polls of U.S. Presidents and is credited for generating an ideological renaissance on the American political right. » Full Bio
This Day In History 238 Years Ago
American War for Independence
July 21, 1775
American War for Independence
July 21, 1775
Battle of Brewster Island
On this day in 1775, Patriot minutemen in whaleboats, commanded by Major Joseph Vose, raid Nantasket Point, also known as Little Brewster Island, in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The raiders temporarily drive off the island's British guard and confiscate lamps, oil, gunpowder and boats, before burning the wooden parts of the point's lighthouse.
Ten days later, at General George Washington's orders, American Major Benjamin Tupper returned to the island with 300 men in whaleboats to prevent the British from completing their repairs to the burned lighthouse. They successfully killed or captured all 32 Redcoats defending the island, in addition to a British soldier with the rank of subaltern (just below a captain) and 10 carpenters who were employed there. Although Tupper missed the first tide and had to engage in an unexpected battle with British reinforcements, he lost only two men. Vose rose from his position as a major in William Heath's Massachusetts Regiment to a colonel of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment on January 1, 1777. In that capacity, he fought under General George Washington in the campaign for Monmouth, New Jersey, before moving back to New England and seeing action near Newport, Rhode Island. » Full Article
Significant Events This Day In History
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