Ron Reagan says their father had “virtually no close friends”

Ronald Reagan was born Ronald Wilson Reagan in the small town of Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911.

When he was young, his father called him “Dutch,” as he believed his son looked like “a fat little Dutchman” when he was born. His father suffered a failed business when he was still young. The values he grew up with were instilled in him by his mother, Nelle.

Ronald Reagan once said, “We learned from our parents that individuals determine their destiny; that is, it’s largely their ambition and hard work that determine their fate in life.”

Ronald Reagan attended Eureka College for four years,  where he studied Economics and Sociology.

After graduation in the 1930s, he decided to work as a radio sports announcer for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa.

He had great talent in baseball,  football, and acting and he soon moved to Hollywood to pursue his passion.

He soon became popular after playing the role of George Gipp in Knute Rockne All American and Drake McHugh in Kings Row.

As world war II approached, Reagan joined the Army Air Force Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California.

It wasn’t long and he got married to actress Jane Wyman and welcomed their first child, Maureen. They also adopted a son, Michael in 1946 and their marriage ended three years later.

After his divorce, he returned to Hollywood, to work in the Screen Actors Guild, where he became a president for 5 consecutive terms. Along the line, he became entangled with the democratic party, but he soon left as General Electric’s G.E. didn’t let him enter politics.

He went on to register as a Republican.

Ronald Reagan found love again in 1952 and soon tied the knot with Nancy Davis. They welcomed their first child together, Patricia in 1952, and Ronald, born in 1958.

Reagan’s political career kicked off after he entered California gubernatorial race. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do as a governor and was inexperienced,  but he won and was even reelected.

On November 4, 1980, he was elected President of the United States and became one of the most popular presidents of the USA.

His tenure was remarkable and was loved by many, but people didn’t know much about him.

As quoted by the New York Times, Reagan’s son Ron described his father in a very different way, saying that he was a “paradoxical character,” “warm yet remote,” “affable as they come” but with “virtually no close friends besides his wife.”

He served as the 40th president of the United States for two terms before leaving office in 1989. Sadly he passed away on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93.