Ronald Wilson Reagan, the younger of two sons, was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois to Nelle and John Reagan. As a child, his life was mostly lived in Dixon, Illinois, a town close to Chicago. He attended Eureka College after earning a worthwhile scholarship and became a member of the football team, a major in economics, captain of the swim team, and a sportscaster for the radio station "WHO" in Des Moines, Iowa after graduating.

Beginning in 1937 was Reagan's 30-year acting career, in which he starred in over 50 movies and also joined the union for actors, the Screen Actors Guild. While present in this organization, he was chosen to be its president 6 times, which was his first experience with leadership. He worked hard as the president of the acting union and created some changes, like removing people suspected to be communists. He worked with GE for some...