Reagan Illustration

Colorful illustration of Ronald Reagan surrounded by patriotic imagery topped by a bald eagle. 

Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American actor and politician. He was the 40th President of the United States and served as the 33rd Governor of California prior to his presidency. Reagan moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later in television. Reagan served as President of the Screen Actors Guild and later as a spokesman for General Electric. Originally, he was a member of the Democratic Party, but due to the parties' shifting platforms during the 1950s, he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. 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.