40th United States President, California Governor, Actor. Considered by many historians and political scientists as the one individual who, in conjunction with Pope John Paul II, most helped end the Cold War between the Western world and the Soviet Union and its allies, even though this event occurred ten months after he left office. Born in the small town of Tampico, Illinois, he graduated from Eureka College, Illinois, in 1932 with a degree in Economics and Sociology. He landed a job as a sportscaster for Radio Station WOC in Davenport, Iowa, and later for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. Using his childhood nickname "Dutch," he broadcast Chicago Cubs baseball games. In 1937, he enlisted in the United States Army Reserve as a Private, and was soon promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. That same year, he took a screen test for Warner Bros. Pictures and became an actor, later making more than 50 films. He gained his second nickname, "The Gipper," when he played legendary Notre Dame halfback George Gipp in the 1940 movie, "Knute Rockne, All American." In 1940, he married actress Jane Wyman. They had a daughter, Maureen, in 1941, adopted a son, Michael, in 1945, and a biological daughter, Christine, born prematurely in 1947, dying the next day. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948. During World War II (WWII), Reagan served on active duty, making some 400 training films for the Army. He was discharged as a Captain on December 9, 1945, and returned to Hollywood. Becoming more involved in politics, he supported President Harry S. Truman's bid for reelection in 1948, but changed to Republican to support Dwight D. Eisenhower's bid for the presidency in 1952. On March 4, 1952, he married actress Nancy Davis, and they had two children, Ron and Patti. In 1964, he spoke for Barry Goldwater at the Republican National Convention and came into the national spotlight. In 1966, he defeated Democrat Edmund Brown to become the 33rd Governor of California, a post which he held for 8 years. Making unsuccessful bids for the Republican nomination for President in 1968 and 1976, he was successful in winning the nomination, and the election, in 1980. He easily won reelection in 1984, and his Vice President, George H.W. Bush, won the election of 1988. In 1989, the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War between the United States and the U.S.S.R., fell, an act that is attributed to Reagan's earlier confrontation with communism. Within two years, the communist governments of Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R. had fallen to democratic forces. He was the oldest person to assume the presidency until Donald Trump in 2017.