__NOTOC__ Year 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January

January – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.

January 3 – U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater announces that he will seek the Republican nomination for President.

January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the 15th century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I meet in Jerusalem.

January 7 – A British firm, the Leyland Motor Corp., announces the sale of 450 buses to the Cuban government, challenging the United States blockade of Cuba.

January 8 – In his first State of the Union Address, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson declares a "War on Poverty".

January 9 – ''Martyrs' Day'': Armed clashes between United States troops and Panamanian civilians in the Panama Canal Zone precipitate a major international crisis, resulting in the deaths of 21 Panamanians and 4 U.S. soldiers.

January 10 – ''Introducing...the Beatles'' is released by Chicago's Vee-Jay Records to get the jump on Capitol Records' release of ''Meet the Beatles!'', scheduled for January 20. The two record companies fight over Vee-Jay's release of this album in court.

January 11 – United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry reports that smoking may be hazardous to one's health (the first such statement from the U.S. government).

January 12

* The predominantly Arab government of Zanzibar is overthrown by African nationalist rebels; a U.S. destroyer evacuates 61 U.S. citizens.

* Routine U.S. naval patrols of the South China Sea begin.

January 13 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, 14-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment Case "Coolidge vs. New Hampshire (1971)."

January 16

* ''Hello, Dolly!'' opens in New York City's St. James Theatre.

* John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, resigns from the space program.

January 17 – John Glenn announces that he will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Ohio.

January 18 – Plans to build the New York World Trade Center are announced.

January 20 – ''Meet the Beatles!'', the first Beatles album from Capitol Records in the United States, is released ten days after Chicago's Vee-Jay Records releases ''Introducing...the Beatles'', which is substantially the same album. The two record companies battle it out in court for months, eventually coming to a settlement.

January 22 – Kenneth Kaunda is inaugurated as the first President of Northern Rhodesia.

January 23

* Pope Paul VI institutes the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is being observed up to now. During this celebration the Popes remind the universal Church that still today salvation comes to us. It is celebrated every Fourth Sunday of Easter also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.

* Thirteen years after its proposal and nearly 2 years after its passage by the United States Senate, the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.

* Arthur Miller's ''After the Fall'' opens on Broadway. A semi-autobiographical work, it arouses controversy over his portrayal of late ex-wife Marilyn Monroe.

January 27

* France and the People's Republic of China announce their decision to establish diplomatic relations.

* U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, 66, announces her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

January 28 – A U.S. Air Force jet training plane that strays into East Germany is shot down by Soviet fighters near Erfurt; all 3 crew men are killed.

January 29–February 9 – The 1964 Winter Olympics are held in Innsbruck, Austria.

January 29

* The Soviet Union launches 2 scientific satellites, Elektron I and II, from a single rocket.

* Ranger 6 is launched by NASA, on a mission to carry television cameras and crash-land on the Moon.

January 30 – General Nguyen Khanh leads a bloodless military coup d'état, replacing Duong Van Minh as Prime Minister of South Vietnam.

February

February – African and Malagasy Union for Economic Cooperation (UAMCE) (Union Africaine et Malgache de Coopération Économique).

February 1 – The Beatles vault to the #1 spot on the U.S. singles charts for the first time, with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", forever changing the way popular music sounds to Americans, also starting the British Invasion in America.

February 3 – Protesting against alleged de-facto school racial segregation, Black and Puerto Rican groups in New York City boycott public schools.

February 4

* The Government of the United States authorizes the Twenty-fourth Amendment, outlawing the poll tax.

* General Motors introduces the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and the Buick Sport Wagon.

February 5 – Kashmir Day On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise to hold plebiscite in disputed territory of Kashmir. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India. In 1948, India had taken the issue of Kashmir to the United Nations Security Council and offered to hold a plebiscite in the held Kashmir under UN supervision.

February 6 – Cuba cuts off the normal water supply to the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in reprisal for the U.S. seizure 4 days earlier of 4 Cuban fishing boats off the coast of Florida.

February 7

* A Jackson, Mississippi jury, trying Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers in June 1963, reports that it cannot reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial.

* The Beatles arrive from England at New York City's JFK International Airport, receiving a tumultuous reception from a throng of screaming fans, marking the first occurrence of "Beatlemania" in the United States.

February 9 – The Beatles appear on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', marking their first live performance on American television. Seen by an estimated 73 million viewers, the appearance becomes the catalyst for the mid-1960s "British Invasion" of American popular music.

February 11

* Greeks & Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus.

* The Republic of China (Taiwan) drops diplomatic relations with France because of French recognition of the People's Republic of China.

February 17

* ''Wesberry v. Sanders'' (376 US 1 1964): The Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.

* Gabonese president Leon M'ba is toppled by a military coup and his archrival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place. However, French intervention restores M'ba's government the next day.

February 23 Chrysler's Second Generation HEMI racing engine (426 Cubic Inches with Hemispherical Head design) debuts at the Daytona 500. The HEMI powered Plymouth of Richard Petty (#43) wins. HEMI powered Plymouths finish 1-2-3.

February 25 – Muhammad Ali beats Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, and is crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.

February 26 – U.S. politician John Glenn slips on a bathroom rug in his Columbus, Ohio apartment and hits his head on the bathtub, injuring his left inner ear, and prompting him (later that week) to withdraw from the race for the Democratic Party Senate nomination.

February 27 – The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.

February 29 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that the United States has developed a jet airplane (the A-11), capable of sustained flight at more than and of altitudes of more than .

March

March 4 – Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa is convicted by a federal jury of tampering with a federal jury in 1962.

March 6

* Constantine II becomes King of Greece, upon the death of his father King Paul.

* Malcolm X, suspended from the Nation of Islam, says in New York City that he is forming a black nationalist party.

March 9

* ''New York Times Co. v Sullivan'' (376 US 254 1964): The United States Supreme Court rules that under the First Amendment, speech criticizing political figures cannot be censored.

* The first Ford Mustang rolls off the assembly line at Ford Motor Company.

March 10 – Soviet military forces shoot down an unarmed reconnaissance bomber that had strayed into East Germany; the 3 U.S. flyers parachute to safety.

March 10 – Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Ambassador to South Vietnam, wins the New Hampshire Republican primary.

March 12 – Malcolm X leaves the Nation of Islam.

March 13 – In a notorious incident, 38 of her neighbors in Queens, New York City fail to respond to the cries of Kitty Genovese, 28, as she is being stabbed to death.

March 14 – A Dallas, Texas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

March 15 – Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor marry (for the first time) in Montreal.

March 20–June 6 – The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development takes place.

March 20 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.

March 21 – ''Non ho l'età'' by Gigliola Cinquetti (music by Nicola Salerno, text by Mario Panzeri) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 for Italy.

March 26 – Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. at news conference. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara delivers an address that reiterates American determination to give South Vietnam increased military and economic aid, in its war against the Communist insurgency.

March 27 – The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2, strikes South Central Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage, Alaska.

March 29 – Radio Caroline becomes England's first pirate radio station, from a ship anchored just outside UK territorial waters.

March 30 – Merv Griffin's game show ''Jeopardy!'' debuts on NBC; Art Fleming is its first host.

March 31 – The military overthrows Brazilian President João Goulart in a coup, starting 21 years of dictatorship in Brazil.

April

April 2 – Mrs. Malcolm Peabody, 72, mother of Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody, is released on $450 bond after spending 2 days in a St. Augustine, Florida jail, for participating in an anti-segregation demonstration there.

April 4

* The Beatles hold the top 5 positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America, an unprecedented achievement. The top songs in America as listed on April 4, in order, are: Can't Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Please Please Me.

* Three high school friends in Hoboken, N.J., open the first BLIMPIE on Washington Street.

April 6 – Jigme Palden Dorji, Premier of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, is shot dead by an unidentified assassin in Puncholing, near the Indian border.

April 7 – IBM announces the System/360.

April 8

* Four of 5 railroad operating unions strike against the Illinois Central Railroad without warning, bringing to a head a 5-year dispute over railroad work rules.

* Gemini 1 is launched, the first unmanned test of the 2-man spacecraft.

* ''From Russia with Love'' premiers in U.S. theaters.

April 9 – The United Nations Security Council adopts by a 9–0 vote a resolution deploring a British air attack on a fort in Yemen 12 days earlier, in which 25 persons were reported killed.

April 11 – The Brazilian Congress elects Field Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco as President of Brazil.

April 12 – In Detroit, Michigan, Malcolm X delivers a speech entitled "The Ballot or the Bullet."

April 13 – The 36th Academy Awards ceremony is held.

April 14 – A Delta rocket's third stage motor ignites prematurely in an assembly room at Cape Canaveral, killing 3.

April 16

* The Rolling Stones release their debut album, ''The Rolling Stones''.

* Sentences totalling 307 years are passed on 12 men who stole £2.6m in used bank notes, after holding up the night mail train travelling from Glasgow to London in August 1963 – a heist that became known as the Great Train Robbery.

April 17

* In the United States, the Ford Mustang is officially unveiled to the public.

* Shea Stadium opens in Flushing, New York.

April 19 – In Laos, the coalition government of Prince Souvanna Phouma is deposed by a right-wing military group, led by Brig. Gen. Kouprasith Abhay. Not supported by the U.S., the coup is ultimately unsuccessful, and Souvanna Phouma is reinstated, remaining Prime Minister until 1975.

April 20

* U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in New York, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, simultaneously announce plans to cut back production of materials for making nuclear weapons.

* Nelson Mandela makes his "I Am Prepared to Die" speech at the opening of the Rivonia Trial, a classic of the anti-apartheid movement.

* BBC2 starts broadcasting in the UK.

April 22

* British businessman Greville Wynne, imprisoned in Moscow since 1963 for alleged spying, is exchanged for Soviet spy Gordon Lonsdale.

* The 1964 New York World's Fair opens to celebrate the 300th anniversary of New Amsterdam being taken over by British forces under the Duke of York (later King James II) and being renamed New York in 1664. The fair runs until October 18, 1964 and reopens April 21, 1965, finally closing October 17, 1965. (Not sanctioned, due to being within 10 years of the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, some countries decline, but many countries have pavilions with exotic crafts, art & food.)

April 25 – Thieves steal the head of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark (Henrik Bruun confesses in 1997).

April 26 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.

May

May 1 – At 4:00 a.m., John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz run the first program written in BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language which they have created. BASIC is eventually included on many computers and even some games consoles.

May 2

* Senator Barry Goldwater receives more than 75% of the votes in the Texas Republican Presidential primary.

* Some 400–1,000 students march through Times Square, New York and another 700 in San Francisco, in the first major student demonstration against the Vietnam War. Smaller marches also occur in Boston, Seattle, and Madison, Wisconsin.

* Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, hitchhiking in Meadville, Mississippi, are kidnapped and beaten by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Their badly decomposed bodies are found by chance 2 months later in July, during the search for 3 civil rights workers – Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.

May 4 – The United States Congress recognized Bourbon whiskey as a "distinctive product of the United States".

May 7

* Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.

* At a mail rockets demonstration by Gerhard Zucker on Hasselkopf Mountain near Braunlage (Lower Saxonia, Germany), 3 persons are killed by a rocket explosion.

May 9 – South Korean President Chung Hee Park reshuffles his Cabinet, after a series of student demonstrations against his efforts to restore diplomatic and trade relations with Japan.

May 11 – Terence Conran opens the first Habitat store on London's Fulham Road.

May 12 – Twelve young men in New York City publicly burn their draft cards to protest the war; the first such act of war resistance.

May 19 – The United States State Department says that more than 40 hidden microphones have been found embedded in the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

May 23

Mrs. Madeline Dassault, 63, wife of a French plane manufacturer and politician, is kidnapped while leaving her car in front of her Paris home; she is found unharmed the next day in a farmhouse from Paris.

* Pablo Picasso paints his fourth ''Head of a Bearded Man''.

May 24–25 – The crowd at a football match in Lima, Peru riots over a referee's decision in the Peru-Argentina game; 319 are killed, 500 injured.

May 26 – Nelson Rockefeller defeats Barry Goldwater in the Oregon Republican primary, slowing but not stalling Goldwater's drive toward the nomination.

May 27 – Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru dies; he is succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri.

June

June 2

* Senator Barry Goldwater wins the California Republican Presidential primary, making him the overwhelming favorite for the nomination.

* Five million shares of stock in the Communications Satellite Corporation (Comsat) are offered for sale at $20 a share, and the issue is quickly sold out.

June 3 – South Korean President Park Chung Hee declares martial law in Seoul, after 10,000 student demonstrators overpower police.

June 6 – With a temporary order, the rocket launches at Cuxhaven are terminated.

June 7 – The Beatles travel the canals of Amsterdam.

June 9 – In Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas, army deserter George John Gessner, 28, is convicted of passing United States secrets to the Soviet Union.

June 10 – The U.S. Senate votes cloture of the Civil Rights Bill after a 75-day filibuster.

June 11

* Greece rejects direct talks with Turkey over Cyprus.

* In Cologne, Germany, Walter Seifert attacks students and teachers in an elementary school with a flamethrower, killing 10 and injuring 21.

June 12

* Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton announces his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination, as part of a 'stop-Goldwater' movement.

* Nelson Mandela and 7 others are sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa, and sent to the Robben Island prison.

June 16 – Keith Bennett, 12, is abducted by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

June 19 – U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, 32, is seriously injured in a private plane crash at Southampton, Massachusetts; the pilot is killed.

June 21

* Three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, are murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, by local Klansmen, cops, and a sheriff.

* Spain beats the Soviet Union 2–1 to win the 1964 European Nations Cup.

* Jim Bunning pitches a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies.

June 25 – The Catholic Church condemns the female combined oral contraceptive pill.

June 26 – Moise Tshombe returns to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from exile in Spain.

June 29 – Manx Radio commences broadcasting from Douglas, Isle of Man after receiving its first Low power broadcast licence from the United Kingdom's General Post Office.

July

July 2 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, abolishing racial segregation in the United States.

July 6 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

July 8 – U.S. military personnel announce that U.S. casualties in Vietnam have risen to 1,387, including 399 dead and 17 MIA.

July 10 – The Beatles return to Liverpool in triumph after their successful US tour, just in time for the premiere of their film 'A Hard Day's Night'. Since 2008, this day is celebrated as Beatles Day in Liverpool, Hamburg and other cities.

July 16 – At the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, U.S. presidential nominee Barry Goldwater declares that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice", and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue".

July 18

* Six days of race riots begin in Harlem.

* Judith Graham Pool publishes her discovery of cryoprecipitate, a substance that extends the lives of hemophiliacs around the world.

July 19 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.

July 20

* Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack a provincial capital, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children).

* The National Movement of the Revolution is instituted as the sole legal political party in the Republic of Congo.

July 21 – Race riots begin in Singapore between ethnic Chinese and Malays.

July 22 – The second meeting of the Organization of African Unity is held.

July 27 – Vietnam War: The U.S. sends 5,000 more military advisers to South Vietnam, bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.

July 31 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon (images are 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth-bound telescopes).

August

August 1

* The Final Looney Tune, "Señorella and the Glass Huarache", is released before the Warner Bros. Cartoon Division is shut down by Jack Warner.

* Emancipation Day in Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Jamaica – celebration of the end of slavery in these former and continuing British colonies in the Caribbean.

August 4

* American civil rights movement: The bodies of murdered civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found.

* Vietnam War: United States destroyers USS ''Maddox'' and USS ''C. Turner Joy'' are attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. Air support from the carrier USS ''Ticonderoga'' sinks 1 gunboat, while the other 2 leave the battle.

August 5

* Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow – Aircraft from carriers USS ''Ticonderoga'' and USS ''Constellation'' bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

* The Simba rebel army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo captures Stanleyville, and takes 1,000 Western hostages.

August 7 – Vietnam War: The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

August 8 – A Rolling Stones gig in Scheveningen gets out of control. Riot police end the gig after about 15 minutes, upon which spectators start to fight the riot police.

August 13 – Murderers Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen become the last people to be executed in the United Kingdom.

August 16 – Vietnam War: In a coup, General Nguyen Khanh replaces Duong Van Minh as South Vietnam's chief of state and establishes a new constitution, drafted partly by the U.S. Embassy.

August 17 – Margaret Harshaw, Metropolitan Opera soprano, sings the role of Turandot in Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' at the New York World's Fair.

August 20 – International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium

August 22

* Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights activist and Vice Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, addresses the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention, challenging the all-white Mississippi delegation.

* Goalkeeper Derek Foster of Sunderland becomes the youngest-ever player to play in the Football League, aged 15 years and 185 days.

August 24–27 – The Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City nominates incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson for a full term, and U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota as his running mate.

August 27 – Walt Disney's ''Mary Poppins'' has its world premiere in Los Angeles. It will go on to become Disney's biggest moneymaker, and winner of 5 Academy Awards, including a Best Actress award for Julie Andrews, who accepted the part after she was passed over by Jack L. Warner for the leading role of Eliza Dolittle in the film version of ''My Fair Lady''. ''Mary Poppins'' is the first Disney film to be nominated for Best Picture.

August 28 – Bob Dylan turns The Beatles on to cannabis for the first time.

August 28–30 – Philadelphia 1964 race riot: Tensions between African American residents and police lead to 341 injuries and 774 arrests.

September

September 2 – Indian Hungry generation poets are arrested on charges of conspiracy against the State and obscenity in literature.

September 4 – The Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth.

September 10

* African Development Bank (AfDB) founded.

* Germany receives its 1,000,000th foreign worker.

September 14

* The third period of the Second Vatican Council opens.

* The London ''Daily Herald'' ceases publication, replaced by ''The Sun''.

September 16 – ''Shindig!'' premieres on the ''ABC'', featuring the top musical acts of the Sixties.

September 17

* ''Goldfinger'' opens in the UK.

* ''Bewitched'', starring Elizabeth Montgomery, premieres on ABC.

September 18 – In Athens, King Constantine II of Greece marries Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, who becomes Europe's youngest Queen at age eighteen years, nineteen days.

September 20 – At the autumnal equinox, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) is founded in England.

September 21 – The island of Malta obtains independence from the United Kingdom.

September 24 – The Warren Commission Report, the first official investigation of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, is published.

September 25 – The Mozambican War of Independence is launched by FRELIMO.

September – Pete Townshend of The Who destroys his first guitar in the name of auto-destructive art at the Railway Hotel, London.

October

October – In ''Photoplay'' magazine, Hedda Hopper announces that Sophia Loren and Paul Newman will star in the film version of Arthur Miller's play, ''After the Fall'', with Loren in the role that was written about Marilyn Monroe. The film was never made.

October 1

* Three thousand student activists at University of California, Berkeley surround and block a police car from taking a CORE volunteer arrested for not showing his ID, when he violated a ban on outdoor activist card tables. This protest eventually explodes into the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

* The ''Shinkansen'' high-speed rail system is inaugurated in Japan, for the first sector between Tokyo and Osaka.

October 2 – The Kinks release their first album, ''The Kinks''.

October 5

* Twenty-three men and thirty-one women escape to West Berlin through a narrow tunnel under the Berlin Wall.

* Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip begin an 8-day visit to Canada.

October 10–24 – The 1964 Summer Olympics are held in Tokyo.

October 12 – The Soviet Union launches ''Voskhod 1'' into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits. The flight is cut short and lands again on October 13 after 16 orbits.

October 14 – American civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. becomes the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States.

October 14–15 – Nikita Khrushchev is deposed as leader of the Soviet Union; Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assume power.

October 15

* The Labour Party wins the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, ending 13 years of Conservative Party rule.

* Craig Breedlove's jet-powered car ''Spirit of America'' goes out of control in Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and makes skid marks 9.6 km long.

* The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the visiting New York Yankees, 7–5 to win the World Series in 7 games (4–3), ending a long run of 29 World Series appearances in 44 seasons for the Bronx Bombers (also known as the ''Yankee Dynasty'').

October 16

Harold Wilson becomes British Prime Minister after leading the Labour Party to a narrow election win over the Tory government of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, which had been in power for 13 years and had four different leaders during that time.

* The People's Republic of China explodes an atomic bomb in Sinkiang.

October 18 – The NY World's Fair closes for the year (it reopens April 21, 1965).

October 21 – The film version of the hit Broadway stage musical ''My Fair Lady'' premieres in New York City. The movie stars Audrey Hepburn in the role of Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison repeating his stage performance as Professor Henry Higgins, and which will win him his only Academy Award for Best Actor. The film will win seven other Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but Audrey Hepburn will not be nominated. Critics interpret this as a rebuke to Jack L. Warner for choosing Ms Hepburn over Julie Andrews.

October 22

* Canada: A Federal Multi-Party Parliamentary Committee selects a design to become the new official Flag of Canada.

A 5.3 Kiloton nuclear device is detonated at the Tatum Salt Dome, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi as part of the Vela Uniform program. This test is the Salmon phase of the Atomic Energy Commission's Project Dribble.

October 24 – Northern Rhodesia, a former British protectorate, becomes the independent Republic of Zambia, ending 73 years of British rule.

October 26 – Eric Edgar Cooke becomes the last man executed in Western Australia, for murdering 8 citizens in Perth, Western Australia between 1959 and 1963.

October 27 – In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rebel leader Christopher Gbenye takes 60 Americans and 800 Belgians hostage.

October 29 – A collection of irreplaceable gemstones, including the Star of India, is stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

October 31 – Campaigning at Madison Square Garden, New York, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson pledges the creation of the Great Society.

November

November 1 – Mortar fire from North Vietnamese forces rains on the USAF base at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, killing 4 U.S. servicemen, wounding 72, and destroying 5 B-57 jet bombers and other planes.

November 3

* U.S. presidential election, 1964: Incumbent U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson defeats Republican challenger Barry Goldwater with over 60 percent of the popular vote.

* The Bolivian government of President Víctor Paz Estenssoro is overthrown by a military rebellion led by General Alfredo Ovando Candía, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

November 5 – Mariner program: Mariner 3, a U.S. space probe intended for Mars, is launched from Cape Kennedy but fails.

November 9 – The British House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty for murder in Britain.

November 10 – Australia partially reintroduces compulsory military service due to the Indonesian Confrontation.

November 13 – Bob Pettit (St. Louis Hawks) becomes the first NBA player to score 20,000 points.

November 19 – The United States Department of Defense announces the closing of 95 military bases and facilities, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and Fort Jay, New York.

November 21

* Second Vatican Council: The third period of the Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.

* The Verrazano Narrows Bridge opens to traffic (the world's longest suspension bridge at this time).

November 24 – Belgian paratroopers and mercenaries capture Stanleyville, but a number of hostages die in the fighting, among them Evangelical Covenant Church missionary Dr. Paul Carlson.

November 28

* Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 4 space probe from Cape Kennedy toward Mars to take television pictures of that planet in July 1965.

* Vietnam War: United States National Security Council members, including Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, and Maxwell Taylor, agree to recommend a plan for a 2-stage escalation of bombing in North Vietnam, to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

December

December 1

* Gustavo Díaz Ordaz takes office as President of Mexico.

* Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam (after some debate, they agree on a 2-phase bombing plan).

December 3 – Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Police arrest about 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover of and massive sit-in at the Sproul Hall administration building. The sit-in most directly protested the U.C. Regents' decision to punish student activists for what many thought had been justified civil disobedience earlier in the conflict.

December 6 – The 1-hour stop-motion animated special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', based on the popular Christmas song, premieres on NBC. It becomes a beloved Christmas tradition, still being shown on television more than 40 years later.

December 10 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

December 11 – Che Guevara addresses the U.N. General Assembly.

December 14 – ''Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States'' (379 US 241 1964): The U.S. Supreme Court rules that, in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, establishments providing public accommodations must refrain from racial discrimination.

December 15 – ''The Washington Post'' publishes an article about James Hampton, who had built a glittering religious throne out of recycled materials.

December 18 – In the wake of deadly riots in January over control of the Panama Canal, the U.S. offers to negotiate a new canal treaty.

December 21 – The James Bond film ''Goldfinger'' begins its run in U.S. theaters. It becomes one of the most successful and popular Bond films ever made.

December 22

* Comedian Lenny Bruce is sentenced to 4 months in prison, concluding a 6-month obscenity trial.

* A cyclone in the Palk Strait destroys the Indian town of Dhanushkodi, killing 1800 people.

December 23

* ''Wonderful Radio London'' commences transmissions with American top 40 format broadcasting, from a ship anchored off the south coast of England.

* Norco, CA incorporated as a city.

December 26 – Lesley Ann Downey, 10, is abducted by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

December 27 – The Cleveland Browns defeat the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship Game.

December 30 – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) established as a permanent organ of the UN General Assembly.

Date unknown

Cosmic microwave background radiation is discovered.

Jerome Horowitz synthesizes zidovudine, an antiviral drug which would later be used in treating HIV.

Dr. Farrington Daniels' book ''Direct Use of the Sun's Energy'' is published by Yale University Press.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad is founded.

The first Moog synthesizer is designed by Robert Moog.

Rudi Gernreich designs the original monokini topless swimsuit in the US.

Roald Dahl writes ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''.

Births

January–February

January 1 – Juliana Donald, American actress

January 2 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer

January 5 – Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Spanish golfer

January 6

* Henry Maske, German boxer

* Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan swimmer and sports commentator (d. 2005)

* Jacqueline DeLois Moore, American wrestler

January 7 – Nicolas Cage, American actor

January 12 – Jeff Bezos, American Internet entrepreneur

January 13

* Penelope Ann Miller, American actress

* Bill Bailey, British comedian

January 15 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer

January 17 – Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

January 18 – Jane Horrocks, British actress

January 19 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan siger

January 23

* Mariska Hargitay, American actress

* Kelly Parsons, American actress and model

January 27 – Bridget Fonda, American actress

January 29 – Andre Reed, NFL player

January 31 – Jeff Hanneman, American rock guitarist (Slayer)

February 5

* Laura Linney, American actress

* Duff McKagan, American rock musician, songwriter

February 8 – German Gref, Minister of Economics and Trade of Russia

February 10 – Glenn Beck, American right-wing broadcaster

February 11

* Sarah Palin, American politician, former Governor of Alaska

* Ken Shamrock, American mixed martial arts fighter

February 15

* Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)

* Mark Price, American basketball player

February 16

* Christopher Eccleston, British actor

* Bebeto, Brazilian footballer

February 18 – Matt Dillon, American actor

February 20 – Willie Garson, American character actor

February 24

* Todd Field, American actor and director

* Ute Geweniger, German swimmer

February 25 – Lee Evans, British comedian and actor

February 28 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan cyclist

March–April

March 4

* Paul Bostaph, American drummer

* Tom Lampkin, American baseball player

March 6 – Skip Ewing, American country singer

March 7

* Bret Easton Ellis, American author

* Wanda Sykes, American comedian and actress

* Vladimir Smirnov, Kazakh cross-country skier

March 8 – Cheryl James, American rapper (Salt-n-Pepa)

March 9

* Juliette Binoche, French actress

* Steve Wilkos, American police officer and talk show host

March 10

* Jasmine Guy, American actress (''A Different World'')

* The Prince Edward (now The Earl of Wessex), youngest child of Elizabeth II

March 11 – Shane Richie, British actor

March 16 – Pascal Richard, Swiss road bicycle racer

March 17 – Rob Lowe, American actor

March 18

* Bonnie Blair, American speed skater

* Rozalla, Zambian singer

* Kanai Mika, Japanese seiyu

March 19 – Yoko Kanno, Japanese composer

March 24 – Liz McColgan, British long-distance runner athlete

March 25

* Lisa Gay Hamilton, American actress

* Vince Offer, American writer, director, comedian, and pitchman

March 26

* Martin Donnelly, Northern Irish racecar driver

* Ed Wasser, American actor

March 29

* Annabella Sciorra, Italian-American actress

* Ming Tsai, Chinese-American chef

March 30 – Tracy Chapman, American singer

April 1 – Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager

April 3 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist

April 4 – David Cross, American actor and comedian

April 7

* Russell Crowe, New Zealand-born actor

* Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player

April 8 – Lisa Guerrero, Hispanic actress, model, and sportscaster/reporter

April 13 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian

April 16 – Esbjörn Svensson Swiss jazz pianist (d. 2008)

April 18 – Lourenço Mutarelli, Brazilian underground comic book writer

April 20

* Andy Serkis, British actor

* Crispin Glover, American actor

April 21 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete

April 25

* Hank Azaria, American actor

* Andy Bell, English singer and songwriter

April 29 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-born actor

April 30 – Kent James, American-born musician

May–June

May 1 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed-skater

May 3 – Ron Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player

May 4 – Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian born painter and visual artist, founder of Transrealism

May 5 – Heike Henkel, German high jumper

May 6 – Dana Hill, American voice actress (d. 1996)

May 7

* Ronnie Harmon, American football player

* Leslie O'Neal, American football player

* Doug Benson, American comedian

May 8

* Melissa Gilbert, American actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild

* Bobby Labonte, American race car driver

May 11 – John Parrott, English snooker player

May 13 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and satirist

May 14 – Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster

May 16 – John Salley, American basketball player and talk show host

May 21 – Danny Bailey, English footballer

May 22 – Marcus Dupree, American football player

May 23 – Ruth Metzler-Arnold, member of the Swiss Federal Council

May 24 – Adrian Moorhouse, British swimmer

May 26

* Lenny Kravitz, American guitarist and singer

* Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American author and paleontologist

May 27 – Adam Carolla, American comedic radio personality and television personality

May 28 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer

May 30 – Wynonna Judd, American country singer

June 1 – Tribhuvan, Hindi poet and journalist

June 3 – James Purefoy, British actor

June 5 – Rick Riordan, American author

June 7 – Gia Carides, Greek-Australian actress

June 9 – Gloria Reuben, Canadian actress

June 13 – Kathy Burke, English actress and comedian

June 15

* Courteney Cox, American actress

* Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer and manager

June 16 – Martin Streek, Canadian Radio Personality (d. 2009)

June 17 – Erin Murphy, American actress

June 19 – Laura Ingraham, American radio host and political commentator

June 22

* Amy Brenneman, American actress

* Dan Brown, American author

June 23 – Lou Yun, Chinese gymnast

June 25 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver

June 26 – Tommi Makinen, Finnish rally driver

June 28 – Mark Grace, American baseball player

July–August

July 1 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player & coach

July 2 – José Canseco and Ozzie Canseco, Cuban baseball players

July 3

* Joanne Harris, English novelist

* Yeardley Smith, American voice actress

July 4 – Martin Flood, Australian quiz show winner

July 7 – Karina Galvez, Ecuadorian poet

July 9 – Courtney Love, American musician/actress

July 11 – Craig Charles, British actor

July 12 – Gaby Roslin, British TV presenter

July 16 – Miguel Indurain, Spanish cyclist

July 17 – Heather Langenkamp, American Actress

July 18 – Wendy Williams, former radio host and current talk show host

July 19 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer

July 20 – Chris Cornell, American singer

July 21 – Ross Kemp, British actor

July 22

* Bonnie Langford, British actress

* Adam Godley, British actor

* John Leguizamo, Colombian-American actor

* David Spade, American comedian, actor and television personality

July 23 – Ed Forchion, political activist

July 24 - Barry Bonds, American baseball player

July 26

* Sandra Bullock, American actress

* Anne Provoost, Belgian author

July 30

* Jurgen Klinsmann, German footballer and manager

* Vivica A. Fox, American actress

August 2 – Mary-Louise Parker, American actress

August 3

* Lucky Dube, South African reggae musician (d. 2007)

* Ye Qiaobo, Chinese speed skater

August 6 – Gary Conrad, American animator

August 9

* Brett Hull, Canadian hockey player

* William Martens, American computer engineer

August 15 – Melinda Gates, American wife of Bill Gates

August 16 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player

August 19 – Dermott Brereton, Australian rules footballer

August 22 – Mats Wilander, Swedish tennis player

August 24 – Salizhan Sharipov, Russian cosmonaut

August 25 – Maxim Kontsevich, Russian mathematician

September–October

September 2 – Keanu Reeves, Canadian actor

September 4 - Anthony Weiner, U.S. Representative for New York's 9th congressional district.

September 6 – Todd Palin, American husband of former governor Sarah Palin

September 7 – Andy Hug, Swiss Seidokaikan karateka and kickboxer, (d. 2000)

September 8

* Michael Johns, American health care executive and Presidential speechwriter

* Scott Levy, American professional wrestler

September 11 – Ellis Burks, American baseball player

September 20 – Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong actress

September 22

* Ian Culverhouse, English footballer

* Juha Turunen, Finnish politician turned criminal

September 23 – Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer (B'z)

September 25 – Kikuko Inoue, Japanese singer and seiyu (voice actress)

September 28 – Janeane Garofalo, American actress and comedian

September 30

* Monica Bellucci, Italian actress and model

* Trey Anastasio, American musician

October 1 – Harry Hill, English comedian, writer and actor

October 2

* Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player

* Makharbek Khadartsev, Russian free-style wrestler

October 3 – Clive Owen, English actor

October 4 – Yvonne Murray, Scottish athlete

October 5 – Keiji Fujiwara, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)

October 8 – CeCe Winans, American Christian musician

October 10 – Quinton Flynn, American voice actor

October 14

* Jim Rome, American sports T.V. and radio host

* David Kaye, Canadian voice actor

* Joe Girardi, American baseball player and manager

October 19

* Ty Pennington, American carpenter, model and television personality

* Jorge Luis Gonzales, Cuban boxer

October 22 – Drazen Petrovic, Croatian basketball player (d. 1993)

October 26 – Marc Lépine, Canadian mass murderer(d. 1989)

October 29 – Yasmin Le Bon, British model

October 31 – Marco van Basten, Dutch footballer and manager

November–December

November 1 – Daran Norris, American voice actor

November 3 – Paprika Steen, Danish actress

November 4

* Douglas Wilson, American television personality and interior designer

* Kurt Krakowian, Child Actor

November 5 – Famke Janssen, Dutch actress

November 6 – Greg Graffin, American rock musician (Bad Religion)

November 7 – Dana Plato, American actress (d. 1999)

November 9 – Sandra Denton, American rapper (Salt-n-Pepa)

November 10

* Magnus Scheving, Icelandic producer

* Kenny Rogers, American baseball player

November 11 – Calista Flockhart, American actress

November 12 – David Ellefson, American rock bassist (Megadeth)

November 14 – Patrick Warburton, American actor

November 16 – Diana Krall, Canadian jazz pianist and singer

November 17 – Mitch Williams, American baseball player

November 18

* Rita Cosby, American television personality

* Seth Joyner, American football player

November 21 – Shane Douglas, American wrestler

November 23 – Boyd Kestner, American actor

November 24

* Alistair McGowan, British actor and comedian

* Garret Dillahunt, American actor

November 26 – Vreni Schneider, Swiss alpine skier

November 27 – Robin Givens, American actress

November 29

* Cork Graham, American author

* Don Cheadle, American actor

December 1 – Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer

December 4 – Marisa Tomei, American actress

December 7

* Roberta Close, Brazilian model

* Curtis Hughes, American wrestler

December 8 – Teri Hatcher, American actress

December 9

* Paul Landers, German rock musician (Rammstein)

* Larry Emdur, Australian game-show host

December 10 – Bobby Flay, American chef and host

December 11 – John Mark Karr, American murder suspect

December 12 – Sabu, American professional wrestler

December 13 – Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, Japanese musician

December 14 – Rebecca Gibney, New Zealand-born actress

December 15 – Jerry Ball, American football player

December 16

* Heike Drechsler, German track-and-field athlete

* Billy Ripken, American baseball player

December 17 – Frank Musil, Czech ice hockey player and scout

December 18 – Steve Austin, American professional wrestler

December 19 – Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player

December 23 – Eddie Vedder, American rock singer (Pearl Jam)

December 30 – Sophie Ward, British actress

Date unknown

John Campbell, New Zealand broadcaster

Fiona Joy Hawkins, Australian composer and pianist

Jiang Yu, Chinese politician

Deaths

January–June

January 1 – Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon (b. 1890)

January 8 – Julius Raab, former Chancellor of Austria (b. 1891)

January 15

* Tawfiq Canaan, Palestinian doctor (b. 1882)

* Jack Teagarden, American jazz trombonist (b. 1905)

January 17 – T. H. White, British author (b. 1906)

January 19 – Joe Weatherly, NASCAR championship driver (b. 1922)

January 21 – Joseph Schildkraut, Austrian actor (b. 1896)

January 22 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer (b. 1905)

January 27

* Norman Z. McLeod, American film director (b. 1898)

* Waite Phillips, American oil man, banker and real estate investor (b. 1883)

January 29 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)

February 5 – Matilde Moisant, American pilot (b. 1878)

February 6 – Emilio Aguinaldo, First President of the Philippines (b. 1869)

February 8

* Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)

* Boshiro Hosogaya, Japanese WWII admiral (b. 1888)

February 10 – Eugen Sänger, Austrian aerospace engineer (b. 1905)

February 18 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor of the snowmobile and founder of Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)

February 25

* Johnny Burke, American lyricist (b. 1908)

* Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)

* Maurice Farman, French aircraft designer (b. 1877)

February 26 – F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, English World War II hero (b. 1901)

February 27 – Orry-Kelly, Australian-born costume designer (b. 1897)

February 29 – Frank Albertson, American actor (b. 1909)

March 4 – Edwin August, American actor and director (b. 1883)

March 6

* Edward Van Sloan, American actor (b. 1882)

* Paul of Greece, King of Greece (b. 1901)

March 9 – Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (b. 1870)

March 18

* Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (b. 1870)

* Norbert Wiener, American mathematician (b. 1894)

March 20 – Brendan Behan, Irish poet and writer (b. 1923)

March 22 – Addison Richards, American actor (b. 1887)

March 23 – Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1904)

April 5 – Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army general, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific during World War II (b. 1880)

April 13 – Veit Harlan, German film director (b. 1899)

April 14 – Rachel Carson, American biologist and environmental writer (b. 1907)

April 18 – Ben Hecht, American screenwriter (b. 1894)

April 24 – Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (b. 1895)

April 26 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet (b. 1882)

April 29 – J. M. Kerrigan, Irish actor (b. 1884)

May 2 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born politician (b. 1879)

May 10 – Carol Haney, American dancer and actress (b. 1924)

May 13 – Diana Wynyard, English actress (b. 1906)

May 21 – James Franck, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)

May 27 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)

May 30

* Dave MacDonald, sports car driver (b. 1936)

* Eddie Sachs, auto racing driver (b. 1927)

June 3 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)

June 6 – Robert Warwick, American actor (b. 1878)

June 7

* Violet Attlee, Countess Attlee, wife of former British PM Clement Attlee (b. 1895)

* Charlie Llewellyn, first non-white South African Test cricketer (b. 1876)

June 9 – Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Canadian-born newspaper publisher and politician (b. 1879)

June 17 – Clarence G. Badger, American film director (b. 1880)

June 21 (killed in Mississippi):

* James Chaney, African-American civil rights activist (killed in Mississippi) (b. 1943)

* Andrew Goodman, American civil rights activist (b. 1943)

* Michael Schwerner, American civil rights activist (killed in Mississippi) (b. 1939)

June 25 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (b. 1888)

June 27 – Mona Barrie, English actress (b. 1909)

July–December

July 1 – Pierre Monteux, French conductor (b. 1875)

July 2 – Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)

July 4 – Henry (Hank) Sylvern, U.S. radio personality (b. 1908)

July 7 – Lillian Copeland, American athlete (b. 1904)

July 13 – Stephen Galatti, Director of AFS, American Field Service (b. 1888)

July 16 – Alfred Junge, German-born art director (b. 1886)

July 23 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet and politician (b. 1876)

July 26 – William A. Seiter, American film director (b. 1890)

July 29 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)

July 31 – Jim Reeves, American country singer (b. 1923)

August 3 – Flannery O'Connor, American writer (b. 1925)

August 6 – Sir Cedric Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1893)

August 7 – Aleksander Zawadzki, former President of Poland (b. 1899)

August 12

* Ian Fleming, British writer (b. 1908)

* Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov, Russian astronomer and inventor (b. 1896)

August 21 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian communist leader (b. 1893)

August 27 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (''Burns And Allen'') (b. 1895)

September 2

* Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist (b. 1900)

* Francisco Craveiro Lopes, President of Portugal (b. 1894)

* Alvin Cullum York, American hero of World War I (b. 1887)

September 18

* Clive Bell, English art critic (b. 1881)

* Sean O'Casey, Irish writer (b. 1880)

September 28

* Nacio Herb Brown, American songwriter (b. 1896)

* Harpo Marx, American comedian (''Marx Brothers'') (b. 1888)

October 10 – Eddie Cantor, American actor, comedian and dancer(b. 1892)

October 15 – Cole Porter, American composer (''You're The Top'') (b. 1891)

October 20 – Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States (b. 1874)

October 22 – Whip Wilson, American actor (b. 1911)

October 27

* Pierre Cartier, French jeweller (b. 1878)

* Rudolph Maté, Polish cinematographer (b. 1898)

November 5

* Mabel Lucie Attwell, British illustrator (b. 1879)

* John S. Robertson, Canadian film director (b. 1878)

November 6 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)

November 10 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor and TV personality (b. 1910)

November 25 – Clarence Kolb, American actor (b. 1874)

November 29 – Anne de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1904)

December 1 – J. B. S. Haldane, British geneticist (b. 1892)

December 6 – Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough (b. 1877)

December 11

* Sam Cooke, African-American singer and songwriter (shot) (b. 1931)

* Percy Kilbride, American actor (b. 1888)

* Alma Schindler Mahler Gropius Werfel, Austrian wife of Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel (b. 1879)

December 9 – Edith Sitwell, British poet (b. 1887)

December 14

* William Bendix, American actor (b. 1906)

* Francisco Canaro, Uruguayan-born composer (b. 1888)

December 17 – Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)

December 21 – Carl Van Vechten, American writer and photographer (b. 1880)

December 29 – Vladimir Favorsky, Russian artist and engraver (b. 1886)

December 31

* Gertrude Michael, American actress (b. 1911)

* Ólafur Thors, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1892)

''date unknown'' – Adolfo Díaz, former President of Nicaragua (b. 1875)

Nobel Prizes

Physics – Charles Hard Townes, Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov, Aleksandr Prokhorov

Chemistry – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

Physiology or Medicine – Konrad Bloch, Feodor Lynen

Literature – Jean-Paul Sartre

Peace – Martin Luther King, Jr.

References

1964 Coin Pictures

af:1964 am:1964 እ.ኤ.አ. ar:ملحق:1964 an:1964 frp:1964 ast:1964 gn:1964 av:1964 ay:1964 az:1964 bn:১৯৬৪ zh-min-nan:1964 nî map-bms:1964 be:1964 be-x-old:1964 bh:१९६४ bcl:1964 bs:1964 br:1964 bg:1964 ca:1964 cv:1964 cs:1964 cbk-zam:1964 co:1964 cy:1964 da:1964 de:1964 et:1964 el:1964 myv:1964 ие es:1964 eo:1964 eu:1964 fa:۱۹۶۴ (میلادی) hif:1964 fo:1964 fr:1964 fy:1964 fur:1964 ga:1964 gv:1964 gd:1964 gl:1964 gan:1964年 xal:1964 җил ko:1964년 hy:1964 hi:१९६४ hr:1964. io:1964 ilo:1964 bpy:মারি ১৯৬৪ id:1964 ia:1964 ie:1964 os:1964-æм аз is:1964 it:1964 he:1964 jv:1964 kn:೧೯೬೪ pam:1964 krc:1964 джыл ka:1964 csb:1964 kk:1964 kw:1964 sw:1964 kv:1964 во ht:1964 (almanak gregoryen) ku:1964 la:1964 lv:1964. gads lb:1964 lt:1964 m. lij:1964 li:1964 ln:1964 jbo:1964moi lmo:1964 hu:1964 mk:1964 ml:1964 mi:1964 mr:इ.स. १९६४ arz:1964 ms:1964 my:၁၉၆၄ nah:1964 nl:1964 nds-nl:1964 ne:१९६४ ja:1964年 nap:1964 no:1964 nn:1964 nrm:1964 nov:1964 oc:1964 mhr:1964 uz:1964 pa:੧੯੬੪ pi:१९६४ pnb:1964 pap:1964 tpi:1964 nds:1964 pl:1964 pt:1964 ty:1964 ksh:Joohr 1964 ro:1964 qu:1964 rue:1964 ru:1964 год sah:1964 se:1964 sq:1964 scn:1964 simple:1964 sk:1964 sl:1964 so:1964 ckb:١٩٦٤ sr:1964 sh:1964 su:1964 fi:1964 sv:1964 tl:1964 ta:1964 tt:1964 ел te:1964 tet:1964 th:พ.ศ. 2507 tg:1964 tr:1964 tk:1964 udm:1964 ар uk:1964 ur:1964ء vec:1964 vi:1964 vo:1964 fiu-vro:1964 wa:1964 vls:1964 war:1964 yi:1964 yo:1964 zh-yue:1964年 diq:1964 bat-smg:1964 zh:1964年

Name	Billy Thorpe
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	William Richard Thorpe
Alias	Little Rock AllenPuff'n Billy
Born	March 29, 1946
Died	February 28, 2007 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Origin	Manchester, Greater Manchester, England
Genre	pop, Rock n Roll
Occupation	Rock singer / musician, producer, writer
Years active	1956–2007
Label	Atlantic, Festival, Mushroom, Liberation
Associated acts	Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Website	Official site
Notable instruments	}}

William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician. As lead singer of his band, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia.

Thorpe also performed as a solo artist, he relocated to the United States from 1976 to 1996 where he released the space opera, ''Children of the Sun'', which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Album chart in 1979. He worked with ex-Aztec, Tony Barber to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for ''The Puggle Tales'' and ''Tales from the Lost Forests''. Thorpe also worked as a producer and composed music scores for TV series including, ''War of the Worlds'', ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Columbo'', ''Eight Is Enough'' and ''Hard Time on Planet Earth''.

Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he authored two autobiographies, ''Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll'' (1996) and ''Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)'' (1998). According to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker [...] Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1991. He died of a myocardial infarction in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer.

Early life

Billy Thorpe was born in 1946 in Manchester England. His parents and he emigrated to Australia in 1955, arriving in Melbourne, Victoria and then settling in Brisbane, Queensland. He performed as a ten year old under the pseudonym, Little Rock Allen. Six months later, after he was heard singing and playing guitar by a television producer, Thorpe made regular musical appearances on Queensland television. He toured regional venues with Reg Lindsay in 1961, and national venues with Johnny O'Keefe and with Col Joye. By 1963, as an experienced singer and musician, he decided to relocate to Sydney.

Success in Sydney

In 1963, Thorpe moved to Sydney and auditioned for a regular gig at Surf City, a popular beat music venue in the city's Kings Cross area. In 1996, Thorpe wrote his first autobiography, ''Sex and thugs and rock 'n' roll : a year in Kings Cross 1963–1964'', on his early experiences there. His backing band was an accomplished Sydney surf instrumental group called The Aztecs, comprising Colin Baigent (drums), Val Jones (rhythm guitar), Vince Melouney (aka Vince Maloney) (lead guitar, vocals), and John "Bluey" Watson (bass guitar). Before Thorpe joined, The Aztecs had released "Smoke and Stack", a surf instrumental. UK-born Tony Barber (rhythm guitar, vocals) soon replaced Jones and they were known as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.

In 1964, the band released their second single, "Blue Day", written by guitarist Barber, which contains the first known recording of Thorpe. US songwriters, Leiber and Stoller wrote "Poison Ivy" for R&B; vocal group, The Coasters, but Thorpe preferred the cover version by The Rolling Stones. They decided to cover it themselves, it was produced at Festival Records and released on the independent Linda Lee label. It became their breakthrough hit when it peaked at #1 on the local Sydney charts. The band was signed by Ted Albert to his newly established Albert Productions, a local record label devoted exclusively to recording Australian pop artists. Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs had national chart success, their record sales and concert attendances rivalling those of The Beatles, with hits like "Mashed Potato", "Sick and Tired" and ''Wizard of Oz'' tune "Over the Rainbow" in the top ten of the record charts in most state capitals.

The original Aztecs lineup split from Thorpe at the beginning of 1965 over a financial dispute, so he created another set, with Johnny Dick (drums), Mike Downes (rhythm guitar, vocals), Colin Risby (lead guitar, vocals), Jimmy Taylor (piano), Teddy Toi (bass guitar), Tony Buchanan (saxophone) and Rocky Thomas (brass). This lineup achieved further success with pop ballads such as "I Told the Brook", "Twilight Time" and "Love Letters". On 27 March 1966, Sydney TV station ATN-7 debuted a music show, ''It's All Happening!'', hosted by Thorpe with the Aztecs as the house band. Each one-hour episode featured both Australian and international musical guests. Despite the TV exposure, later singles did not chart and when the show ended its run in early 1967, the Aztecs broke up. Thorpe undertook a brief solo career, he released "Dream Baby" (Roy Orbison cover), in October 1967 but it had no chart success. During 1968 he modified his image to display long hair, moustache and a fringed jacket; he formed a new backing band with Dick, Mick Liber (guitar) and Dave McTaggert (bass guitar) who was quickly replaced by Paul Wheeler. By August, Dick and Liber had left, and Thorpe relocated to Melbourne.

Melbourne

In August 1968 Thorpe had moved to Melbourne with Paul Wheeler (bass guitar) and Jimmy Thompson (drums), Thorpe took up lead guitar as well as lead vocals. As a trio they became the next version of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. By December, former Purple Hearts and Wild Cherries guitarist Lobby Loyde joined. Thorpe had recorded no new material for over two years, but he emerged after a spell of bankruptcy in 1969, with "Good Mornin' Little School Girl", a Willie Dixon cover, as a single in March 1970. With the encouragement of Loyde, Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs developed a heavier sound and established themselves as one of Australia's premier hard rock groups. By July, Warren `Pig' Morgan (piano, vocals) had joined and the band recorded, ''The Hoax Is Over'', which was released in January 1971. Loyde left to reform Wild Cherries (later called Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls). After further releases the Aztecs had accrued a considerable reputation in the southern states and became known as one of the loudest acts on the local concert and pub circuit. Thorpe described the sound:

In 1972, the band played two pivotal gigs, first was the Sunbury Pop Festival in January, which featured the debut of Thorpe's self-penned anthem, "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Thorpe now had a ponytail, T-shirt, full beard, played guitar and encouraged the Sunbury crowd to "Suck more piss". The #2 hit single returned the Aztecs to national prominence. The second major gig was their show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl during the Moomba Festival in March, which resulted in an estimated 200,000 people filling the park, and forced police to close roads around the venue. Later that year, they released ''Aztecs Live! At Sunbury'', which peaked at #4 in September. Ex-Copperwine blues singer Wendy Saddington had top 30 chart success with her 1972 solo single, "Looking Through a Window", which was written and produced by Thorpe and Morgan of the Aztecs. The two Aztecs combined for ''Downunda'' which was released in 1973 under the names, Thump'n Pig (Morgan) and Puff'n Billy (Thorpe); with the related single, "Captain Straightman", both album and single peaked into the top 40 of the relevant charts. Saddington had provided vocals and co-wrote a track for the album.

In March 1973, The Who's rock opera ''Tommy'' was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Thorpe in the role of the Local Lad performing Pinball Wizard. Other Australian artists were Daryl Braithwaite (as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson, Broderick Smith, Jim Keays, Colleen Hewett, Linda George, Ross Wilson, Bobby Bright, and Ian Meldrum (as Uncle Ernie in Sydney).

After more line-up changes Thorpe dissolved the Aztecs early in 1975, as a solo artist he recorded ''Million Dollar Bill'', which peaked into the top 40, with its top 50 single "Its Almost Summer"; and ''Pick Me Up & Play Me Loud'' in 1976. Both albums showed another change in style, they were a mix of Adult-orientated Rock, funk and country. In December 1976, he relocated to Los Angeles in the United States, although he returned to Australia periodically to tour with varied line-ups of the Aztecs.

United States

From December 1976, Thorpe continued his musical career in the US, by 1979 he released his solo space opera, ''Children of the Sun'', which peaked into the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Album chart, and top 50 in Australia. The related single, "Children of the Sun" peaked into the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' Singles chart. He released three more studio albums while living in the US, with ''21st Century Man'' (1980) peaking on the ''Bilboard'' Pop Album chart top 200. "In My Room" from ''21st Century Man'' had top ten chart success in Canada. Other US-based releases were ''Stimulation'' (1981) and ''East Of Eden's Gate'' (1982).

In 1984, Thorpe stopped performing live music, he had started an electronics consulting company which did work for The Walt Disney Company, Mattel and Universal Studios. By 1986, he owned a recording and production studio in Los Angeles, where he worked on musical scoring for television series, including: ''War of the Worlds'', ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Columbo'', ''Eight Is Enough'' and ''Hard Time on Planet Earth''. Former Aztec bandmate, Tony Barber had written a series of children's books, collectively called ''The Puggle Tales'' from 1981. Barber and Thorpe had formed a soft toy company in 1987, Sunshine Friends, and also released children's songs on cassettes and video. In 1989 Barber and Thorpe co-wrote three more stories for ''The Puggle Tales'' series: ''Double trouble'', ''Flying's easy'' and ''Marco and the book of wisdom''.

From 1990, Thorpe collaborated with Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac) and Bekka Bramlett in Fleetwood's side project, a band called The Zoo, which resulted in ''Shakin the Cage'' (no apostrophe) single featuring Billy Burnette and Kenny Gradney of Little Feat. This was followed by the "Shakin' the Cage" (apostrophe included) album featuring an altered band line-up and a re-recorded version of the title track in March 1991. Thorpe had written all ten of the tracks, including one (the title track track) co-written with Burnette, and another with Bramlett's father Delaney. The Zoo toured Australia during 1991 and while in the country Thorpe was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 25 March alongside Glenn Shorrock, Don Burrows and Peter Dawson. Fleetwood performed at the ARIA Awards ceremony held at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Thorpe returned to touring with another set of Aztecs in 1993 and released a boxed set in 1994, ''Lock Up Your Mothers'', which peaked at #15 on the ARIA Charts. The Lock Up Your Mothers tour included media appearances on ''Hey Hey Its Saturday'', ''Denton'' and ''60 Minutes''.

Return to Australia

In 1996 Thorpe formed the Billy Thorpe Band with: Andy Cichon (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Steve Edmonds (guitar, vocals), Paul DeMarco (drums) and Randall Waller (guitar, vocals, keyboards), and toured Australia in July. He had returned to live in Sydney and authored his first autobiography, ''Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll'', on his early experiences in King's Cross and the formation of the Aztecs, which was released in November. He followed with an Australian TV appearance on ''This Is Your Life''. In October 1998, he released his second autobiography, ''Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)''. On 14 November 1998, with the Aztecs, Thorpe appeared at the Mushroom 25 Concert singing, "Most People I Know" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", ex-Aztec Lobby Loyde joined them on-stage on guitar.

''Long Way to the Top'' was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. ''Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish'', broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde, Michael Chugg (Thorpe's manager / promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of pub rock in Australia. According to Chugg, an Aztec performance at Sydney's Bondi Lifesaver club in 1974 was so loud as to kill a tankful of tropical fish in an upstairs area–hence the episode title. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and Kevin Jacobsen with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Thorpe performing with the 'original' Aztecs line-up in one set and the 'Sunbury' Aztecs in a second. Performances at two Sydney concerts in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV and subsequently released on DVD in December.

Thorpe recorded material for a new album, ''Tangier'', with the Symphonique Orchestra du Maroc in Casablanca, Morocco during September to November 2006 and was working on the album when he died in Sydney in February 2007. ''Tangier'' was produced by Daniel Denholm. In December 2006, Thorpe had recorded an acoustic live performance which was released posthumously in April 2007 on Liberation Records as ''Solo: The Last Recordings'', which peaked at #19 on the ARIA albums chart. On 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment announced the release of ''Tangier'' at the ARIA Hall of Fame in Sydney.

He was a republican.

Death

Thorpe suffered from chest pains at his home on 28 February 2007 and was taken by an ambulance to St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney around 2:00 am AEDT after having a massive heart attack. He remained in the emergency ward in a serious condition and went into cardiac arrest around half an hour later, hospital staff unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him. His family was by his side when he died at 60 years old. Thorpe is survived by his wife Lynn, and daughters Rusty and Lauren. His manager Michael Chugg said the death was a "terrible tragedy", as Thorpe had just finished recording a new album ''Tangier'' and was very happy after a recent acoustic tour. He was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 11 June 2007, with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a musician, songwriter, producer, and as a contributor to the preservation and collection of contemporary Australian music".

Bibliography

2002 edition was a combined re-release of both autobiographies. 2007 edition is also known as ''Billy Thorpe Commemorative Edition''

Discography

''For his work as leader of the Aztecs see Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs''

According to allmusic, Thorpe is credited with: guitars (lead, bass, rhythm), vocals, record producer, sound engineer, keyboards, synthesizer, sound mixing and harmonica.

Albums

solo ''Million Dollar Bill'' – 1975, Festival Records, 35707 #37 AUS

''Pick Me Up and Play Me Loud'' –; 1976, Festival Records,

''Children of the Sun'' – 1979, Capricorn Records, Polydor Records #44 AUS

''21st Century Man'' – 1980, Mushroom Records, Elektra Records

''Time Traveller'' – 1980, Blue Goose Records #42 AUS

''Stimulation'' – 1981, Mushroom Records, Pasha Records/CBS Records

''East Of Eden's Gate'' – 1982, Pasha Records/CBS Records

''Solo - The Last Recordings'' – 2007

''Tangier'' – 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment

with Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls and Leo De Castro

''Summer Jam'' –; 1973

with Warren Morgan as Thump'n Pig and Puff'n Billy ''Downunda'' – 1973, Atlantic Records #40 AUS

Singles

"Dream Baby" –1967

"Do the Best You Can" – 1975

"It's Almost Summer" – 1976

"Children of the Sun" – 1979 (#41 US)

"In My Room" – 1980

"Just the Way I Like It" – 1981

"You Touched Me" – 1981

References

External links

Billy Thorpe discography at ''Billboard''

Billy Thorpe discography at MusicBrainz

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs - Stories and Highlights at ''Long Way to the Top'' website by Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Listen to a clip from 'Most People I Know (Think that I'm Crazy)' and read more about it on australianscreen online

'Most People I Know (Think that I'm Crazy)' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2008

Category:1946 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian musicians Category:Australian republicans Category:Australian guitarists Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Members of the Order of Australia

fr:Billy Thorpe pt:Billy Thorpe

Name	Ronald Reagan
Office	40th President of the United States
Vicepresident	George H. W. Bush
Term start	January 20, 1981
Term end	January 20, 1989
Predecessor	Jimmy Carter
Successor	George H. W. Bush
Order2	33rd Governor of California
Lieutenant2	Robert FinchEdwin ReineckeJohn Harmer
Term start2	January 2, 1967
Term end2	January 6, 1975
Predecessor2	Pat Brown
Successor2	Jerry Brown
Birth date	February 06, 1911
Birth place	Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
Death date	June 05, 2004
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Party	Republican Party (1962–2004)
Otherparty	Democratic Party (Before 1962)
Spouse	Jane Mayfield Wyman (1940-48)Nancy Davis (1952–2004)
Children	MaureenChristineMichaelPattiRon
Alma mater	Eureka College
Profession	Actor
Religion	Presbyterianism Disciples of Christ (Formerly)
Signature	Ronald Reagan Signature2.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Branch	United States ArmyUnited States Army Air Forces
Rank	Captain
Serviceyears	1937–45 }}

Ronald Wilson Reagan (; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989), the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975) and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor.

Reagan was born in Tampico in Whiteside County, Illinois, reared in Dixon in Lee County, Illinois, and educated at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. Upon his graduation, Reagan first moved to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then in 1937 to Los Angeles, California. He began a career as an actor, first in films and later television, appearing in over 50 movie productions and earning enough success to become a famous, publicly recognized figure. Some of his most notable roles are in ''Knute Rockne, All American'' and ''Kings Row''. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later spokesman for General Electric; his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he began to support Republican Party candidates in the early 1950s and eventually switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and election, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter, in 1980.

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 reelected 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 General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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. He ranks highly in public opinion polls of U.S. Presidents. He is also credited for generating an ideological renaissance on the American political right.

Early life

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in an apartment on the second floor of a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911, to Jack Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan. Reagan's father was a salesman and a storyteller, the descendant of Irish Catholic immigrants from County Tipperary while his mother had Scots-English ancestors. Reagan had one older brother, Neil "Moon" Reagan (1908–1996), who became an advertising executive. As a boy, Reagan's father nicknamed his son "Dutch," due to his "fat little Dutchman"-like appearance, and his "Dutchboy" haircut; the nickname stuck with him throughout his youth. Reagan's family briefly lived in several towns and cities in Illinois, including Monmouth, Galesburg and Chicago, until 1919, when they returned to Tampico and lived above the H.C. Pitney Variety Store. After his election as president, residing in the upstairs White House private quarters, Reagan would quip that he was "living above the store again".

According to Paul Kengor, author of ''God and Ronald Reagan'', Reagan had a particularly strong faith in the goodness of people, which stemmed from the optimistic faith of his mother, Nelle, and the Disciples of Christ faith, which he was baptized into in 1922. For the time, Reagan was unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and recalled a time in Dixon when the local inn would not allow black people to stay there. Reagan brought them back to his house, where his mother invited them to stay the night and have breakfast the next morning.

Following the closure of the Pitney Store in late 1920, the Reagans moved to Dixon; the midwestern "small universe" had a lasting impression on Reagan. He attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in acting, sports, and storytelling. His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon, in 1927. Reagan performed 77 rescues as a lifeguard, noting that he notched a mark on a wooden log for every life he saved. Reagan attended Eureka College, where he became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and majored in economics and sociology. He developed a reputation as a jack of all trades, excelling in campus politics, sports and theater. He was a member of the football team, captain of the swim team and was elected student body president. As student president, Reagan notably led a student revolt against the college president after he tried to cut back the faculty.

Military service

After completing fourteen home-study Army Extension Courses, Reagan enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on April 29, 1937, as a private assigned to Troop B, 322nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on May 25, 1937.

Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his nearsightedness, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office. Upon the approval of the Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on May 15, 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the First Motion Picture Unit (officially, the "18th AAF Base Unit") in Culver City, California. On January 14, 1943 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of ''This Is The Army'' at Burbank, California. He returned to the First Motion Picture Unit after completing this duty and was promoted to Captain on July 22, 1943.

In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was re-assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit on November 14, 1944, where he remained until the end of World War II. He was recommended for promotion to Major on February 2, 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year. He returned to Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on December 9, 1945. By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF.

Entertainment career

Radio and film

After graduating from Eureka in 1932, Reagan drove himself to Iowa, where he auditioned for a job at many small-town radio stations. The University of Iowa hired him to broadcast home football games for the Hawkeyes. He was paid $10 per game. Soon after, a staff announcer's job opened at radio station WOC in Davenport, and Reagan was hired, now earning $100 per month. Aided by his persuasive voice, he moved to WHO radio in Des Moines as an announcer for Chicago Cubs baseball games. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games that the station received by wire.

While traveling with the Cubs in California, Reagan took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers studios. He spent the first few years of his Hollywood career in the "B film" unit, where, Reagan joked, the producers "didn't want them good, they wanted them Thursday". While sometimes overshadowed by other actors, Reagan's screen performances did receive many good reviews.

His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie ''Love Is on the Air'', and by the end of 1939 he had already appeared in 19 films, including ''Dark Victory''. Before the film ''Santa Fe Trail'' in 1940, he played the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film ''Knute Rockne, All American''; from it, he acquired the lifelong nickname "the Gipper". Reagan's favorite acting role was as a double amputee in 1942's ''Kings Row'', in which he recites the line, "Where's the rest of me?", later used as the title of his 1965 autobiography. Many film critics considered ''Kings Row'' to be his best movie, though the film was condemned by ''New York Times'' critic Bosley Crowther.

Reagan called ''Kings Row'' the film that "made me a star". However, he was unable to capitalize on his success because he was ordered to active duty with the U.S. Army at San Francisco two months after its release, and never regained "star" status in motion pictures.

Fan mail

While he worked at Warner Bros., Reagan enlisted his mother Nelle Wilson Reagan to answer his fan mail. She would handwrite letters and sign his name as if he had written the letters himself. Mrs. Reagan would sign her actor-son's name on photographs and even on membership cards in the Ronald Reagan Fan Club. The article "Devoted Mother, Devoted Son" in the January/February 1985 issue of The Pen & Quill, journal of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club, compares the handwriting of mother and son, pointing out the differences, and also reveals that Reagan was paying his mother $75.00 a week.

SAG president and television

Reagan was first elected to the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild in 1941, serving as an alternate. Following World War II, he resumed service and became 3rd vice-president in 1946. The adoption of conflict-of-interest bylaws in 1947 led the SAG president and six board members to resign; Reagan was nominated in a special election for the position of president and subsequently elected. He would subsequently be chosen by the membership to seven additional one-year terms, from 1947 to 1952 and in 1959. Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act, House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era.

Amid the Red Scare in the late 1940s, Reagan provided the FBI with names of actors whom he believed to be communist sympathizers within the motion picture industry. Reagan testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on the subject as well. A fervent anti-communist, he reaffirmed his commitment to democratic principles, stating, "I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."

Though an early critic of television, Reagan landed fewer film roles in the late 1950s and decided to join the medium. He was hired as the host of ''General Electric Theater'', a series of weekly dramas that became very popular. His contract required him to tour GE plants sixteen weeks out of the year, often demanding of him fourteen speeches per day. He earned approximately $125,000 per year (about $1.07 million in 2010 dollars) in this role. His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the television series ''Death Valley Days''. Reagan and Nancy Davis appeared together several times, including an episode of GE Theater in 1958 called ''A Turkey for the President''.

Marriages and children

In 1938, Reagan co-starred in the film ''Brother Rat'' with actress Jane Wyman (1917–2007). They were engaged at the Chicago Theatre, and married on January 26, 1940, at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Glendale, California. Together they had two children, Maureen (1941–2001) and Christine (June 26, 1947 – June 27, 1947), and adopted a third, Michael (born 1945). Following arguments about Reagan's political ambitions, Wyman filed for divorce in 1948, citing a distraction due to her husband's Screen Actors Guild union duties; the divorce was finalized in 1949. He is the only US president to have been divorced.

Reagan met actress Nancy Davis (born 1921) in 1949 after she contacted him in his capacity as president of the Screen Actors Guild to help her with issues regarding her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood (she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis). She described their meeting by saying, "I don't know if it was exactly love at first sight, but it was pretty close." They were engaged at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles and were married on March 4, 1952, at the Little Brown Church in the San Fernando Valley. Actor William Holden served as best man at the ceremony. They had two children: Patti (born October 21, 1952) and Ron (born May 20, 1958).

Observers described the Reagans' relationship as close, real, and intimate. During his presidency they were reported as frequently displaying their affection for one another; one press secretary said, "They never took each other for granted. They never stopped courting." He often called her "Mommy;" she called him "Ronnie". He once wrote to her, "whatever I treasure and enjoy ... all would be without meaning if I didn’t have you." When he was in the hospital in 1981, she slept with one of his shirts to be comforted by his scent. In a letter to U.S. citizens written in 1994, Reagan wrote "I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.... I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience," and in 1998, while Reagan was stricken by Alzheimer's, Nancy told ''Vanity Fair'', "Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. I can't imagine life without him."

Early political career

Reagan began his political career as a liberal Democrat, admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and an active supporter of New Deal policies. In the early 1950s, as his relationship with Republican actress Nancy Davis grew, he shifted to the right and, while remaining a Democrat, endorsed the presidential candidacies of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 as well as Richard Nixon in 1960. The last time Reagan actively supported a Democratic candidate was in 1950 when he helped Helen Gahagan Douglas in her unsuccessful Senate campaign against Richard Nixon. After being hired in 1954 to host the General Electric Theater, a TV drama series, Reagan soon began to embrace the conservative views of the sponsoring company's officials. His many GE speeches—which he wrote himself—were non-partisan but carried a conservative, pro-business message; he was influenced by Lemuel Boulware, a senior GE executive. Boulware, known for his tough stance against unions and his innovative strategies to win over workers, championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism: free markets, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government. Eventually, the ratings for Reagan's show fell off and GE dropped Reagan in 1962. In August of that year Reagan formally switched to the Republican Party, stating, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me."

Reagan opposed certain civil rights legislation, saying "If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, it is his right to do so". He later reversed his opposition to voting rights and fair housing laws. He strongly denied having racist motives. When legislation that would become Medicare was introduced in 1961, Reagan created a recording for the American Medical Association warning that such legislation would mean the end of freedom in America. Reagan said that if his listeners did not write letters to prevent it, "we will awake to find that we have so­cialism. And if you don't do this, and if I don't do it, one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."

Reagan endorsed the campaign of conservative presidential contender Barry Goldwater in 1964. Speaking for Goldwater, Reagan stressed his belief in the importance of smaller government. He revealed his ideological motivation in a famed speech delivered on October 27, 1964: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing." This "Time for Choosing" speech raised $1 million for Goldwater's campaign and is considered the event that launched Reagan's political career.

Reagan was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association.

Governor of California, 1967–1975

California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time for Choosing" speech, and nominated him for Governor of California in 1966. In Reagan's campaign, he emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work," and in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-establishment student protests at the University of California at Berkeley, "to clean up the mess at Berkeley." He was elected, defeating two-term governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and was sworn in on January 2, 1967. In his first term, he froze government hiring and approved tax hikes to balance the budget.

Shortly after the beginning of his term, Reagan tested the presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement, hoping to cut into Nixon's Southern support and be a compromise candidate if neither Nixon nor second-place Nelson Rockefeller received enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the Republican convention. However, by the time of the convention Nixon had 692 delegate votes, 25 more than he needed to secure the nomination, followed by Rockefeller with Reagan in third place.

Reagan was involved in high-profile conflicts with the protest movements of the era. On May 15, 1969, during the People's Park protests at UC Berkeley, Reagan sent the California Highway Patrol and other officers to quell the protests, in an incident that became known as "Bloody Thursday." Reagan then called out 2,200 state National Guard troops to occupy the city of Berkeley for two weeks in order to crack down on the protesters. When the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst in Berkeley and demanded the distribution of food to the poor, Reagan joked, "It's just too bad we can't have an epidemic of botulism."

Early in 1967, the national debate on abortion was beginning. Democratic California state senator Anthony Beilenson introduced the "Therapeutic Abortion Act," in an effort to reduce the number of "back-room abortions" performed in California. The State Legislature sent the bill to Reagan's desk where, after many days of indecision, he signed it. About two million abortions would be performed as a result, most because of a provision in the bill allowing abortions for the well-being of the mother. Reagan had been in office for only four months when he signed the bill, and stated that had he been more experienced as governor, it would not have been signed. After he recognized what he called the "consequences" of the bill, he announced that he was pro-life. He maintained that position later in his political career, writing extensively about abortion.

Despite an unsuccessful attempt to recall him in 1968, Reagan was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" Jesse Unruh. He chose not to seek a third term in the following election cycle. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned capital punishment, which he strongly supported. His efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the Supreme Court of California issued its ''People v. Anderson'' decision, which invalidated all death sentences issued in California prior to 1972, though the decision was later overturned by a constitutional amendment. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on April 12, 1967, when Aaron Mitchell's sentence was carried out by the state in San Quentin's gas chamber.

In 1969, Reagan, as Governor, signed the ''Family Law Act'' which was the first no fault divorce legislation in the United States.

Reagan's terms as governor helped to shape the policies he would pursue in his later political career as president. By campaigning on a platform of sending "the welfare bums back to work," he spoke out against the idea of the welfare state. He also strongly advocated the Republican ideal of less government regulation of the economy, including that of undue federal taxation.

Reagan did not seek re-election to a third term as governor in 1974 and was succeeded by Democratic California Secretary of State Jerry Brown on January 6, 1975.

1976 presidential campaign

In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the American Conservative Union which became key components of his political base, while President Ford was considered a more moderate Republican.

Reagan's campaign relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager John Sears of winning a few primaries early to damage the inevitability of Ford's likely nomination. Reagan won North Carolina, Texas, and California, but the strategy failed, as he ended up losing New Hampshire, Florida, and his native Illinois. The Texas campaign lent renewed hope to Reagan, when he swept all ninety-six delegates chosen in the May 1 primary, with four more awaiting at the state convention. Much of the credit for that victory came from the work of three co-chairmen, including Ernest Angelo, the mayor of Midland, and Ray Barnhart of Houston, whom President Reagan tapped in 1981 as director of the Federal Highway Administration.

However, as the GOP convention neared, Ford appeared close to victory. Acknowledging his party's moderate wing, Reagan chose moderate Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate if nominated. Nonetheless, Ford prevailed with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070. Ford would go on to lose the 1976 Presidential election to the Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Reagan's concession speech emphasized the dangers of nuclear war and the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Though he lost the nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a faithless elector in the November election from the state of Washington, which Ford had won over Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter.

1980 presidential campaign

The 1980 presidential campaign between Reagan and incumbent President Jimmy Carter was conducted during domestic concerns and the ongoing Iran hostage crisis. His campaign stressed some of his fundamental principles: lower taxes to stimulate the economy, less government interference in people's lives, states' rights, and a strong national defense.

Reagan launched his campaign by declaring "I believe in states' rights," in Philadelphia, Mississippi, known at the time for the murder of three civil rights workers who had been trying to register African-Americans to vote during the civil rights movement. After receiving the Republican nomination, Reagan selected one of his primary opponents, George H.W. Bush, to be his running mate. His showing in the October televised debate boosted his campaign. Reagan won the election, carrying 44 states with 489 electoral votes to 49 electoral votes for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Reagan received 50.7% of the popular vote while Carter took 41%, and Independent John B. Anderson (a liberal Republican) received 6.7%. Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1952, and gained 34 House seats, but the Democrats retained a majority.

During the presidential campaign, questions were raised by reporters on Reagan's stance on the Briggs Initiative, also known as Proposition 6, a ballot initiative in Reagan's home state of California where he was governor, which would have banned gays, lesbians, and supporters of LGBT rights from working in public schools in California. His opposition to the initiative was instrumental in its landslide defeat by Californian voters. Reagan published an editorial in which he stated "homosexuality is not a contagious disease like the measles..." and that prevailing scientific opinion was that a child's sexual orientation cannot be influenced by someone else.

Presidency, 1981–1989

During his Presidency, Reagan pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom, brought changes domestically, both to the U.S. economy and expanded military, and contributed to the end of the Cold War. Termed the Reagan Revolution, his presidency would reinvigorate American morale and reduce the people's reliance upon government. As president, Reagan kept a series of diaries in which he commented on daily occurrences of his presidency and his views on the issues of the day. The diaries were published in May 2007 in the bestselling book, ''The Reagan Diaries''.

First term, 1981–1985

To date, Reagan is the oldest man elected to the office of the presidency (at 69). In his first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, which Reagan himself wrote, he addressed the country's economic malaise arguing: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."

The Reagan Presidency began in a dramatic manner; as Reagan was giving his inaugural address, 52 U.S. hostages, held by Iran for 444 days were set free.

Assassination attempt

On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were struck by gunfire from would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Although "close to death" during surgery, Reagan recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11, becoming the first serving U.S. President to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. The attempt had great influence on Reagan's popularity; polls indicated his approval rating to be around 73%. Reagan believed that God had spared his life so that he might go on to fulfill a greater purpose.

Establishing full U.S. diplomatic relations with the Vatican

Within months of President Reagan’s inaugural in 1981, one of the first steps taken by Reagan was to obtain the repeal of the 1868 federal law which prohibited the expenditure of funds for an U.S. Embassy to the Vatican. Reagan was successful in obtaining the repeal with out real opposition.

President Reagan announced on January 10, 1984 that full diplomatic relations between the United States and the Vatican had been established. The President did this over the opposition of the office of the Secretary of State.

Air traffic controllers' strike

In summer 1981 PATCO, the union of federal air traffic controllers went on strike, violating a federal law prohibiting government unions from striking. Declaring the situation an emergency as described in the 1947 Taft Hartley Act, Reagan stated that if the air traffic controllers "do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated." They did not return and on August 5, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order, and used supervisors and military controllers to handle the nation's commercial air traffic until new controllers could be hired and trained. As a leading reference work on public administration concluded, "The firing of PATCO employees not only demonstrated a clear resolve by the president to take control of the bureaucracy, but it also sent a clear message to the private sector that unions no longer needed to be feared."

"Reaganomics" and the economy

During Jimmy Carter's last year in office (1980), inflation averaged 12.5%, compared to 4.4% during Reagan's last year in office (1988). Over those eight years, the unemployment rate declined from 7.1% to 5.5%, hitting annual rate highs of 9.7% (1982) and 9.6% (1983) and averaging 7.5% during Reagan's administration.

Reagan implemented policies based on supply-side economics and advocated a classical liberal and ''laissez-faire'' philosophy, seeking to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts. Citing the economic theories of Arthur Laffer, Reagan promoted the proposed tax cuts as potentially stimulating the economy enough to expand the tax base, offsetting the revenue loss due to reduced rates of taxation, a theory that entered political discussion as the Laffer curve. Reaganomics was the subject of debate with supporters pointing to improvements in certain key economic indicators as evidence of success, and critics pointing to large increases in federal budget deficits and the national debt. His policy of "peace through strength" (also described as "firm but fair") resulted in a record peacetime defense buildup including a 40% real increase in defense spending between 1981 and 1985.

During Reagan's presidency, federal income tax rates were lowered significantly with the signing of the bipartisan Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 which lowered the top marginal tax bracket from 70% to 50% and the lowest bracket from 14% to 11%, however other tax increases signed by Reagan ensured that tax revenues over his two terms were 18.2% of GDP as compared to 18.1% over the past 40 years. Then, in 1982 the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 was signed into law, initiating one of the nation's first public/private partnerships and a major part of the president's job creation program. Reagan's Assistant Secretary of Labor and Chief of Staff, Al Angrisani, was a primary architect of the bill. The Tax Reform Act of 1986, another bipartisan effort championed by Reagan, reduced the top rate further to 28% while raising the bottom bracket from 11% to 15% and reducing the quantity of brackets to 4. Conversely, Congress passed and Reagan signed into law tax increases of some nature in every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding such government programs as TEFRA, Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. Despite the fact that TEFRA was the "largest peacetime tax increase in American history," Reagan is better known for his tax cuts and lower-taxes philosophy. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth recovered strongly after the early 1980s recession ended in 1982, and grew during his eight years in office at an annual rate of 3.85% per year. Unemployment peaked at 10.8% monthly rate in December 1982—higher than any time since the Great Depression—then dropped during the rest of Reagan's presidency. Sixteen million new jobs were created, while inflation significantly decreased. The net effect of all Reagan-era tax bills was a 1% decrease in government revenues when compared to Treasury Department revenue estimates from the Administration's first post-enactment January budgets. However, federal Income Tax receipts increased from 1980 to 1989, rising from $308.7Bn to $549.0Bn.

During the Reagan Administration, federal receipts grew at an average rate of 8.2% (2.5% attributed to higher Social Security receipts), and federal outlays grew at an annual rate of 7.1%. Reagan also revised the tax code with the bipartisan Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Reagan's policies proposed that economic growth would occur when marginal tax rates were low enough to spur investment, which would then lead to increased economic growth, higher employment and wages. Critics labeled this "trickle-down economics"—the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will create a "trickle-down" effect to the poor. Questions arose whether Reagan's policies benefited the wealthy more than those living in poverty, and many poor and minority citizens viewed Reagan as indifferent to their struggles. These views were exacerbated by the fact that Reagan's economic regimen included freezing the minimum wage at $3.35 an hour, slashing federal assistance to local governments by 60 percent, cutting the budget for public housing and Section 8 rent subsidies in half, and eliminating the antipoverty Community Development Block Grant program.

Further following his less-government intervention views, Reagan cut the budgets of non-military programs including Medicaid, food stamps, federal education programs and the EPA. While he protected entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, his administration attempted to purge many people with disabilities from the Social Security disability rolls.

The administration's stance toward the Savings and Loan industry contributed to the Savings and loan crisis. It is also suggested, by a minority of Reaganomics critics, that the policies partially influenced the stock market crash of 1987, but there is no consensus regarding a single source for the crash. In order to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits, the United States borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, raising the national debt from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion. Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.

He reappointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and in 1987 he appointed monetarist Alan Greenspan to succeed him. Reagan ended the price controls on domestic oil which had contributed to energy crises in the early 1970s. The price of oil subsequently dropped, and the 1980s did not see the fuel shortages that the 1970s had. Reagan also fulfilled a 1980 campaign promise to repeal the Windfall profit tax in 1988, which had previously increased dependence on foreign oil. Some economists, such as Nobel Prize winners Milton Friedman and Robert A. Mundell, argue that Reagan's tax policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s.

During Reagan's presidency a program was initiated within the US intelligence community to ensure America's economic strength. The program, Project Socrates, developed and demonstrated the means required for the US to generate and lead the next evolutionary leap in technology acquisition and utilization for a competitive advantage—automated innovation. To ensure that the US acquired the maximum benefit from automated innovation, President Reagan during his second term had an executive order drafted creating a new Federal agency to implement the Project Socrates results on a nation-wide basis. President Reagan's term came to end before the executive order could be coordinated and signed. President Bush terminated Project Socrates due to pressure from US allies.

Lebanon and Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada), 1983

American peacekeeping forces in Beirut, a part of a multinational force during the Lebanese Civil War who had been earlier deployed by Reagan, were attacked on October 23, 1983. The Beirut barracks bombing resulted in the deaths of 241 American servicemen and the wounding of more than 60 others by a suicide truck bomber. Reagan sent a White House team to the site four days later, led by his Vice President, George H.W. Bush. Reagan called the attack "despicable," pledged to keep a military force in Lebanon, and planned to target the Sheik Abdullah barracks in Baalbek, Lebanon, training ground for Hezbollah fighters, but the mission was later aborted. On February 7, 1984, President Reagan ordered the Marines to begin withdrawal from Lebanon. In April 1984, as his keynote address to the 20,000 attendees of the Rev. Jerry Falwell's "Baptist Fundamentalism '84" convention in Washington, D.C., he read a first hand account of the bombing, written by Navy Chaplain (Rabbi) Arnold Resnicoff, who had been asked to write the report by Bush and his team. Osama bin Laden would later cite Reagan's withdrawal of forces as a sign of American weakness.

On October 25, 1983, only two days later, Reagan ordered U.S. forces to invade Grenada, code named Operation Urgent Fury, where a 1979 ''coup d'état'' had established an independent non-aligned Marxist-Leninist government. A formal appeal from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) led to the intervention of U.S. forces; President Reagan also cited an allegedly regional threat posed by a Soviet-Cuban military build-up in the Caribbean and concern for the safety of several hundred American medical students at St. George's University as adequate reasons to invade. ''Operation Urgent Fury'' was the first major military operation conducted by U.S. forces since the Vietnam War, several days of fighting commenced, resulting in a U.S. victory, with 19 American fatalities and 116 wounded American soldiers. In mid-December, after a new government was appointed by the Governor-General, U.S. forces withdrew.

Escalation of the Cold War

Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which began in 1979 following the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Reagan ordered a massive buildup of the United States Armed Forces and implemented new policies towards the Soviet Union: reviving the B-1 Lancer program that had been canceled by the Carter administration, and producing the MX missile. In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing missile in West Germany.

Together with the United Kingdom's prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Reagan denounced the Soviet Union in ideological terms. In a famous address on June 8, 1982 to the British Parliament in the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster, Reagan said, "the forward march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history." On March 3, 1983, he predicted that communism would collapse, stating, "Communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written." In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983, Reagan called the Soviet Union "an evil empire".

After Soviet fighters downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Moneron Island on September 1, 1983, carrying 269 people, including Georgia congressman Larry McDonald, Reagan labeled the act a "massacre" and declared that the Soviets had turned "against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere". The Reagan administration responded to the incident by suspending all Soviet passenger air service to the United States, and dropped several agreements being negotiated with the Soviets, wounding them financially. As result of the shootdown, and the cause of KAL 007's going astray thought to be inadequacies related to its navigational system, Reagan announced on September 16, 1983 that the Global Positioning System would be made available for civilian use, free of charge, once completed in order to avert similar navigational errors in future.

Under a policy that came to be known as the Reagan Doctrine, Reagan and his administration also provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Reagan deployed the CIA's Special Activities Division to Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were instrumental in training, equipping and leading Mujaheddin forces against the Soviet Army. President Reagan's Covert Action program has been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, though the US funded armaments introduced then would later pose a threat to US troops in the 2000s war in Afghanistan. However, in a break from the Carter policy of arming Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act. Reagan also agreed with the communist government in China to reduce the sale of arms to Taiwan.

In March 1983, Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, a defense project Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible, but disbelief that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars" and argue that the technological objective was unattainable. For those reasons, David Gergen, former aide to President Reagan, believes that in retrospect, SDI hastened the end of the Cold War.

Critics labeled Reagan's foreign policies as aggressive, imperialistic, and chided them as "warmongering," though they were supported by leading American conservatives who argued that they were necessary to protect U.S. security interests. A reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev, would later rise to power in the Soviet Union in 1985, implementing new policies for openness and reform that were called ''glasnost'' and ''perestroika''.

1984 presidential campaign

Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in Dallas, Texas, on a wave of positive feeling. He proclaimed that it was "morning again in America," regarding the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the 1984 Summer Olympics, among other things. He became the first American president to open an Olympic Games held in the United States.

Reagan's opponent in the 1984 presidential election was former Vice President Walter Mondale. With questions about Reagan's age, and a weak performance in the first presidential debate, his ability to perform the duties of president for another term was questioned. His apparent confused and forgetful behavior was evident to his supporters; they had previously known him clever and witty. Rumors began to circulate that he had Alzheimer's disease. Reagan rebounded in the second debate, and confronted questions about his age, quipping, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience," which generated applause and laughter, even from Mondale himself.

That November, Reagan was re-elected, winning 49 of 50 states. The president's overwhelming victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota (by 3800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes, the most of any candidate in United States history, and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6%.

Second term, 1985–1989

Reagan was sworn in as president for the second time on January 20, 1985, in a private ceremony at the White House. Because January 20 fell on a Sunday, a public celebration was not held but took place in the Capitol Rotunda the following day. January 21 was one of the coldest days on record in Washington, D.C.; due to poor weather, inaugural celebrations were held inside the Capitol.

In the summer of 1982, several conservative activists, including Howard Phillips of The Conservative Caucus and Clymer Wright of Houston, Texas, had urged Reagan to remove his White House chief of staff James Baker, also of Houston, on grounds that Baker, a political intimate of George H. W. Bush, was undercutting conservative initiatives in the administration. Not only did Reagan reject the Wright-Phillips request, but in 1985, after his reelection, he named Baker as United States Secretary of the Treasury, at Baker's request in a job-swap with then Secretary Donald T. Regan, a former Merrill Lynch officer who became chief of staff. Reagan also rebuked Wright and Phillips for having waged a "campaign of sabotage" against Baker.

In 1985, Reagan visited a German military cemetery in Bitburg to lay a wreath with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. It was determined that the cemetery held the graves of forty-nine members of the Waffen-SS. Reagan issued a statement that called the Nazi soldiers buried in that cemetery as themselves "victims," a designation which ignited a stir over whether Reagan had equated the SS men to victims of the Holocaust; Patrick J. Buchanan, Reagan's Director of Communications, argued that the president did not equate the SS members with the actual Holocaust. Now strongly urged to cancel the visit, the president responded that it would be wrong to back down on a promise he had made to Chancellor Kohl. He ultimately attended the ceremony where two military generals laid a wreath.

The disintegration of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986 proved a pivotal moment in Reagan's presidency. All seven astronauts aboard were killed. On the night of the disaster, Reagan delivered a speech written by Peggy Noonan in which he said (quoting the first and last lines of John Gillespie Magee's 1941 poem ''High Flight''):

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War on Drugs

Midway into his second term, Reagan declared more militant policies in the War on Drugs. He said that "drugs were menacing our society" and promised to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, expanded drug treatment, stronger law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts, and greater public awareness.

In 1986, Reagan signed a drug enforcement bill that budgeted $1.7 billion to fund the War on Drugs and specified a mandatory minimum penalty for drug offenses. The bill was criticized for promoting significant racial disparities in the prison population and critics also charged that the policies did little to reduce the availability of drugs on the street, while resulting in a great financial burden for America. Defenders of the effort point to success in reducing rates of adolescent drug use. First Lady Nancy Reagan made the War on Drugs her main priority by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, which aimed to discourage children and teenagers from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying "no". Mrs. Reagan traveled to 65 cities in 33 states, raising awareness about the dangers of drugs including alcohol.

Libya bombing

Relations between Libya and the U.S. under President Reagan were continually contentious, beginning with the Gulf of Sidra incident in 1981; by 1982, Gaddafi was considered by the CIA to be, along with USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and was also labeled as "our international public enemy number one" by a CIA official as well. Reagan authorized the use of force against the country. In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the U.S. launched a series of air strikes on ground targets in Libya. The UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher allowed the US air force to use Britain's air bases to launch the attack, on the justification that the UK was supporting America's right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The attack was designed to halt Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's ability to export terrorism, offering him "incentives and reasons to alter his criminal behavior". The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office." As early as 1981, Reagan had referred to Gaddafi as "the mad dog of the Middle East" and considered him to be public enemy number one.

Immigration

Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to approximately 3 million illegal immigrants who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1982, and had lived in the country continuously. Critics argue that the employer sanctions were without teeth and failed to stem illegal immigration. Upon signing the act at a ceremony held beside the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty, Reagan said, "The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans."

Iran-Contra affair

In 1986, a scandal shook the administration stemming from the use of proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, which had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress. The Iran-Contra affair became the largest political scandal in the United States during the 1980s. The International Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction to decide the case was disputed, ruled that the U.S. had violated international law in Nicaragua due to its obligations not to intervene in the affairs of other states.

President Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence. He appointed two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft and Edmund Muskie, known as the "Tower Commission") to investigate the scandal. The commission could not find direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but criticized him heavily for his disengagement from managing his staff, making the diversion of funds possible. A separate report by Congress concluded that "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have." Reagan's popularity declined from 67 percent to 46 percent in less than a week, the greatest and quickest decline ever for a president. The scandal resulted in fourteen indictments within Reagan's staff, and eleven convictions.

Many Central Americans criticize Reagan for his support of the Contras, calling him an anti-communist zealot, blinded to human rights abuses, while others say he "saved Central America". Daniel Ortega, Sandinistan and current president of Nicaragua, said that he hoped God would forgive Reagan for his "dirty war against Nicaragua". In 1986 the USA was found guilty by the International Court of Justice (World Court) of war crimes against Nicaragua.

End of the Cold War

By the early 1980s, the USSR had built up a military arsenal and army surpassing that of the United States. Previously, the U.S. had relied on the qualitative superiority of its weapons to essentially frighten the Soviets, but the gap had been narrowed. After President Reagan's military buildup, the Soviet Union did not further dramatically build up its military; the enormous military expenses, in combination with collectivized agriculture and inefficient planned manufacturing, were a heavy burden for the Soviet economy. At the same time, the Reagan Administration persuaded Saudi Arabia to increase oil production, which resulted in a drop of oil prices in 1985 to one-third of the previous level; oil was the main source of Soviet export revenues. These factors gradually brought the Soviet economy to a stagnant state during Gorbachev's tenure.

Reagan recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership with Mikhail Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements. Reagan's personal mission was to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons," which he regarded as "totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization." He was able to start discussions on nuclear disarmament with General Secretary Gorbachev. Gorbachev and Reagan held four summit conferences between 1985 and 1988: the first in Geneva, Switzerland, the second in Reykjavík, Iceland, the third in Washington, D.C., and the fourth in Moscow. Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of Communism.

Speaking at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev to go further, saying:

Prior to Gorbachev visiting Washington, D.C., for the third summit in 1987, the Soviet leader announced his intention to pursue significant arms agreements. The timing of the announcement led Western diplomats to contend that Gorbachev was offering major concessions to the U.S. on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe. He and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the White House, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons. The two leaders laid the framework for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I; Reagan insisted that the name of the treaty be changed from Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to Strategic Arms Reduction Talks.

When Reagan visited Moscow for the fourth summit in 1988, he was viewed as a celebrity by the Soviets. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No," he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era." At Gorbachev's request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at the Moscow State University. In his autobiography, ''An American Life'', Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction that they charted and his warm feelings for Gorbachev. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Cold War was officially declared over at a Malta Summit on December 3, 1989 and two years later, the Soviet Union collapsed.

Health

Early in his presidency, Reagan started wearing a custom, technologically advanced hearing aid, first in his right ear and later in his left as well. His decision to go public in 1983 regarding his wearing the small, audio-amplifying device boosted their sales.

On July 13, 1985, Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital to remove cancerous polyps from his colon. He relinquished presidential power to the Vice President for eight hours in a similar procedure as outlined in the 25th Amendment, which he specifically avoided invoking. The surgery lasted just under three hours and was successful. Reagan resumed the powers of the presidency later that day. In August of that year, he underwent an operation to remove skin cancer cells from his nose. In October, additional skin cancer cells were detected on his nose and removed.

In January 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate which caused further worries about his health. No cancerous growths were found, however, and he was not sedated during the operation. In July of that year, aged 76, he underwent a third skin cancer operation on his nose.

Judiciary

During his 1980 campaign, Reagan pledged that, if given the opportunity, he would appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice. That opportunity came in his first year in office when he nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart. In his second term, Reagan elevated William Rehnquist to succeed Warren Burger as Chief Justice, and named Antonin Scalia to fill the vacant seat. Reagan nominated conservative jurist Robert Bork to the high court in 1987. Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, strongly condemned Bork, and great controversy ensued. Bork's nomination was rejected 58–42. Reagan then nominated Douglas Ginsburg, but Ginsburg withdrew his name from consideration after coming under fire for his cannabis use. Anthony Kennedy was eventually confirmed in his place. Along with his three Supreme Court appointments, Reagan appointed 83 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 290 judges to the United States district courts. His total of 376 appointments is the most by any president.

Reagan also nominated Vaughn R. Walker, who would later be revealed to be the earliest known gay federal judge, to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. However, the nomination stalled in the Senate, and Walker was not confirmed until he was renominated by Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush.

Post-presidential years, 1989–2004

After leaving office in 1989, the Reagans purchased a home in Bel Air, Los Angeles in addition to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara. They regularly attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church and occasionally made appearances on behalf of the Republican Party; Reagan delivered a well-received speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. Previously on November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public. At the dedication ceremonies, five presidents were in attendance, as well as six first ladies, marking the first time five presidents were gathered in the same location. Reagan continued publicly to speak in favor of a line-item veto; the Brady Bill; a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget; and the repeal of the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president. In 1992 Reagan established the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the newly formed Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. His final public speech was on February 3, 1994 during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C., and his last major public appearance was at the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994.

Alzheimer's disease

Announcement and reaction

In August 1994, at the age of 83, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, writing in part: }}

After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his California home, but there was also speculation over how long Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration. In her memoirs, former CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl recounts her final meeting with the president, in 1986: "Reagan didn't seem to know who I was. ... Oh, my, he's gonzo, I thought. I have to go out on the lawn tonight and tell my countrymen that the president of the United States is a doddering space cadet." But then, at the end, he regained his alertness. As she described it, "I had come ''that'' close to reporting that Reagan was senile." However, Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, a physician employed as a reporter for the ''New York Times'', noted that "the line between mere forgetfulness and the beginning of Alzheimer's can be fuzzy" and all four of Reagan's White House doctors said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president. Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely" did not "show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's". Reagan did experience occasional memory lapses, though, especially with names. Once, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to Vice President Bush as "Prime Minister Bush". Reagan's doctors, however, note that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992 or 1993, several years after he had left office. His former Chief of Staff James Baker considered "ludicrous" the idea of Reagan sleeping during cabinet meetings. Other staff members, former aides, and friends said they saw no indication of Alzheimer's while he was President. In contrast, Reagan's son, Ron Reagan, wrote in his 2011 memoir that he had noticed evidence of dementia as early as Reagan's first Presidential term, and that by 1986 Reagan was unable to recall the names of previously familiar landmarks near Los Angeles.

Complicating the picture, Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma in July 1989, five years prior to his diagnosis. After being thrown from a horse in Mexico, a subdural hematoma was found and surgically treated later in the year. Nancy Reagan asserts that her husband's 1989 fall hastened the onset of Alzheimer's disease, citing what doctors told her, although acute brain injury has not been conclusively proven to accelerate Alzheimer's or dementia. Reagan's one-time physician Dr. Daniel Ruge has said it is possible, but not certain, that the horse accident affected the course of Reagan's memory.

Progression

As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed Reagan's mental capacity. He was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy. He remained active, however; he took walks through parks near his home and on beaches, played golf regularly, and until 1999 he often went to his office in nearby Century City.

Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home on January 13, 2001, resulting in a broken hip. The fracture was repaired the following day and the 89 year old Reagan returned home later that week, although he faced difficult physical therapy at home. On February 6, 2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former president to do so (the other two being John Adams and Herbert Hoover, with Gerald Ford later reaching 90). Reagan's public appearances became much less frequent with the progression of the disease, and as a result, his family decided that he would live in quiet isolation. Nancy Reagan told CNN's Larry King in 2001 that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband because she felt that "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was." Since her husband's diagnosis and death, Mrs. Reagan has become a stem-cell research advocate, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, something President Bush opposed. Mrs. Reagan has said that she believes that it could lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.

Death

Reagan died of pneumonia at his home in Bel Air, California on the afternoon of June 5, 2004. A short time after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer's Disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." President George W. Bush declared June 11 a National Day of Mourning, and international tributes came in from around the world. Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California later in the day, where well-wishers paid tribute by laying flowers and American flags in the grass. On June 7, his body was removed and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a brief family funeral was held conducted by Pastor Michael Wenning. His body lay in repose in the Library lobby until June 9; over 100,000 people viewed the coffin.

On June 9, Reagan's body was flown to Washington, D.C. where he became the tenth United States president to lie in state; in thirty-four hours, 104,684 people filed past the coffin.

On June 11, a state funeral was conducted in the Washington National Cathedral, and presided over by President George W. Bush. Eulogies were given by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and both Presidents Bush. Also in attendance were Mikhail Gorbachev, and many world leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and interim presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, and Ghazi al-Yawer of Iraq.

After the funeral, the Reagan entourage was flown back to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, where another service was held, and President Reagan was interred. At the time of his death, Reagan was the longest-lived president in U.S. history, having lived 93 years and 120 days (2 years, 8 months, and 23 days longer than John Adams, whose record he surpassed). He is now the second longest-lived president, just 45 days fewer than Gerald Ford. He was the first United States president to die in the 21st century, and his was the first state funeral in the United States since that of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973.

His burial site is inscribed with the words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: "I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life."

Legacy

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated on November 4, 1991. Supporters have pointed to a more efficient and prosperous economy and a peaceful end to the Cold War. Critics argue that his economic policies caused huge budget deficits, quadrupling the United States national debt, and that the Iran-Contra affair lowered American credibility. As time has passed, he has generally come to be viewed in a more positive light, and ranks highly among presidents in many public opinion polls. In presidential surveys he has consistently been ranked in the first and second quartiles, with more recent surveys generally ranking Reagan in the first quartile of U.S. presidents.

Edwin Feulner, President of The Heritage Foundation, said that Reagan "helped create a safer, freer world" and said of his economic policies: "He took an America suffering from 'malaise'... and made its citizens believe again in their destiny." However, Mark Weisbrot, co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said that Reagan's "economic policies were mostly a failure"; with Reagan's detractors accusing him of creating a range of fiscal calamities such as widening the wealth inequality to the point where the richest 1% of Americans held 39% of the nation's wealth, a rise in the poverty population from 26.1 million in 1979 to 32.7 million in 1988, and an increase in homelessness to 600,000 Americans on any given night.

Despite the continuing debate surrounding his legacy, many conservative and liberal scholars agree that Reagan has been the most influential president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, leaving his imprint on American politics, diplomacy, culture, and economics. Since he left office, historians have reached a consensus, as summarized by British historian M. J. Heale, who finds that scholars now concur that Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the nation to the right, practiced a pragmatic conservatism that balanced ideology and the constraints of politics, revived faith in the presidency and in American self respect, and contributed to victory in the Cold War. In response, Howard Kurtz of ''The Washington Post'' has opined that Reagan was "a far more controversial figure in his time than the largely gushing obits on television would suggest."

Cold War

The Cold War was a major political and economic endeavor for over four decades, but the confrontation between the two superpowers had decreased dramatically by the end of Reagan's presidency. The significance of Reagan's role in ending the Cold War has spurred contentious and opinionated debate. That Reagan had some role in contributing to the downfall of the Soviet Union is collectively agreed, but the extent of this role is continuously debated, with many believing that Reagan's defense policies, hard line rhetoric against the Soviet Union and Communism, as well as summits with General Secretary Gorbachev played a significant part in ending the War.

He was notable amongst post–World War II presidents as being convinced that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with, a conviction that was vindicated by Gennadi Gerasimov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman under Gorbachev, who said that Star Wars was "very successful blackmail. ... The Soviet economy couldn't endure such competition." Reagan's strong rhetoric toward the nation had mixed effects; Jeffery W. Knopf, PhD observes that being labeled "evil" probably made no difference to the Soviets but gave encouragement to the East-European citizens opposed to communism. That Reagan had little or no effect in ending the Cold War is argued with equal weight; that Communism's internal weakness had become apparent, and the Soviet Union would have collapsed in the end regardless of who was in power. President Harry Truman's policy of containment is also regarded as a force behind the fall of the U.S.S.R., and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined the Soviet system itself. and deemed him "a great President." Gorbachev does not acknowledge a win or loss in the war, but rather a peaceful end; he said he was not intimidated by Reagan's harsh rhetoric. Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said of Reagan, "he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power... but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform." She later said, "Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty and he did it without a shot being fired." Said Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada: "He enters history as a strong and dramatic player [in the Cold War]." Former President Lech Wałęsa of Poland acknowledged, "Reagan was one of the world leaders who made a major contribution to communism's collapse."

Domestic and political legacy

Ronald Reagan reshaped the Republican party, led the modern conservative movement, and altered the political dynamic of the United States. More men voted Republican under Reagan, and Reagan tapped into religious voters. The so-called "Reagan Democrats" were a result of his presidency.

Since leaving office, Reagan has become an iconic influence within the Republican party. His policies and beliefs have been frequently invoked by Republican presidential candidates since 1989. The 2008 Republican presidential candidates were no exception, for they aimed to liken themselves to him during the primary debates, even imitating his campaign strategies. Republican nominee John McCain frequently stated that he came to office as "a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution". Lastly, Reagan's most famous statement that "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem", has become the unofficial slogan for the rise of conservative commentators like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh; as well as the emergence of the Tea Party Movement.

Cultural and political image

According to columnist Chuck Raasch, "Reagan transformed the American presidency in ways that only a few have been able to." He redefined the political agenda of the times, advocating lower taxes, a conservative economic philosophy, and a stronger military. His role in the Cold War further enhanced his image as a different kind of leader. Reagan's "avuncular style, optimism, and plain-folks demeanor" also helped him turn "government-bashing into an art form."

+ Ronald Reagan's approval ratings	!Date	!Event	!Approval (%)	!Disapproval (%)
March 30, 1981	Shot by Hinckley	73	19
January 22, 1983	High unemployment	42	54
April 26, 1986	Libya bombing	70	26
February 26, 1987	Iran-Contra affair	44	51
January 20, 1989	End of presidency	64
! n/a	! Career Average	! 57	! 39
July 30, 2001	(Retrospective)	64	27

As a sitting president, Reagan did not have the highest approval ratings, but his popularity has increased since 1989. Gallup polls in 2001 and 2007 ranked him number one or number two when correspondents were asked for the greatest president in history, and third of post–World War II presidents in a 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll, fifth in an ABC 2000 poll, ninth in another 2007 Rasmussen poll, and eighth in a late 2008 poll by United Kingdom newspaper ''The Times''. In a Siena College survey of over 200 historians, however, Reagan ranked sixteenth out of 42. While the debate about Reagan's legacy is ongoing, the 2009 Annual ''C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leaders'' ranked Reagan the 10th greatest president. The survey of leading historians rated Reagan number 11 in 2000.

In 2011, the Institute for the Study of the Americas released the first ever U.K. academic survey to rate U.S. presidents. This poll of U.K. specialists in U.S. history and politics placed Reagan as the 8th greatest U.S. president.

Reagan's ability to connect with the American people earned him the laudatory moniker "The Great Communicator". Of it, Reagan said, "I won the nickname the great communicator. But I never thought it was my style that made a difference—it was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things." His age and soft-spoken speech gave him a warm grandfatherly image.

Reagan also earned the nickname "the Teflon President," in that public perceptions of him were not tarnished by the controversies that arose during his administration. According to Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who coined the phrase, and reporter Howard Kurtz, the epithet referred to Reagan's ability to "do almost anything wrong and not get blamed for it."

Public reaction to Reagan was always mixed; the oldest president was supported by young voters, and began an alliance that shifted many of them to the Republican party. Reagan did not fare well with minority groups, especially African-Americans. This was largely due to his opposition to affirmative action policies. However, his support of Israel throughout his presidency earned him support from many Jews. He emphasized family values in his campaigns and during his presidency, although he was the first president to have been divorced. The combination of Reagan's speaking style, unabashed patriotism, negotiation skills, as well as his savvy use of the media, played an important role in defining the 1980s and his future legacy.

Reagan was known to gibe frequently during his lifetime, displayed humor throughout his presidency, and was famous for his storytelling. His numerous jokes and one-liners have been labeled "classic quips" and "legendary". Among the most notable of his jokes was one regarding the Cold War. As a sound check prior to his weekly radio address in August 1984, Reagan made the following joke as a way to test the microphone: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." Former aide David Gergen commented, "It was that humor... that I think endeared people to Reagan."

Honors

Reagan received a number of awards in his pre- and post-presidential years. Following his election as president, Reagan received a lifetime gold membership in the Screen Actors Guild, as well as the United States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award.

In 1989, Reagan was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, one of the highest British orders (this entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters "GCB" but, by not being the citizen of a Commonwealth realm, not to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan"); only two American presidents have received this honor, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Reagan was also named an honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. Japan awarded him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1989; he was the second American president to receive the order and the first to have it given to him for personal reasons (Dwight D. Eisenhower received it as a commemoration of U.S.-Japanese relations).

On January 18, 1993, Reagan's former Vice-President and sitting President George H. W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that the United States can bestow. Reagan was also awarded the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by Republican members of the Senate.

On Reagan's 87th birthday, in 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by a bill signed into law by President Clinton. That year, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was dedicated in Washington, D.C. He was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people in 1999; two years later, USS ''Ronald Reagan'' was christened by Nancy Reagan and the United States Navy. It is one of few Navy ships christened in honor of a living person and the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a living former president.

Congress authorized the creation of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Dixon, Illinois in 2002, pending federal purchase of the property. On May 16 of that year, Nancy Reagan accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the president and herself.

Following Reagan's death, the United States Postal Service issued a President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp in 2005. Later in the year, CNN, along with the editors of ''TIME'' magazine, named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years; ''Time'' listed Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century as well. The Discovery Channel asked its viewers to vote for The Greatest American in an unscientific poll on June 26, 2005; Reagan received the honorary title.

In 2006, Reagan was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts. Every year since 2002, California Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have proclaimed February 6 "Ronald Reagan Day" in the state of California in honor of their most famous predecessor. In 2010, Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 944, authored by Senator George Runner, to make every February 6 Ronald Reagan Day in California.

In 2007, Polish President Lech Kaczyński posthumously conferred on Reagan the highest Polish distinction, the Order of the White Eagle, saying that Reagan had inspired the Polish people to work for change and helped to unseat the repressive communist regime; Kaczyński said it "would not have been possible if it was not for the tough-mindedness, determination, and feeling of mission of President Ronald Reagan". Reagan backed the nation of Poland throughout his presidency, supporting the anti-communist Solidarity movement, along with Pope John Paul II.

On June 3, 2009, Nancy Reagan unveiled a statue of her late husband in the United States Capitol rotunda. The statue represents the state of California in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Following Reagan's death, both major American political parties agreed to erect a statue of Reagan in the place of that of Thomas Starr King. The day before, President Obama signed the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act into law, establishing a commission to plan activities to mark the upcoming centenary of Reagan's birth.

Independence Day 2011 saw the unveiling of another statue to Reagan this time in the British capital of London, outside the American Embassy, Grosvenor Square. The unveiling was supposed to be attended by Reagan's wife Nancy, but she did not attend; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took her place and read a statement on her behalf; further to the former First Lady's absence President Reagan's friend and the British Prime Minister during Reagan's presidency Baroness Thatcher was also unable to attend due to frail health.

See also

List of Presidents of the United States

Political positions of Ronald Reagan

US Presidents on US postage stamps

Citations

References

Further reading

External links

Official sites

Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) at WhiteHouse.gov

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Ronald Reagan's major speeches

Ronald Reagan at Eureka College

Media

Ronald Reagan audio archives at NPR

Gipperisms: In the Words of Reagan—slide show by ''Life'' magazine

Oral History Transcripts on the Reagan administration from the Miller Center of Public Affairs

Speech on role of chaplains in the military, based on 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Text version; Video version

Korean Air Lines Flight 007">Speech on the 1983 Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007

News coverage

Ronald Reagan from ''The Washington Post''

Ronald Reagan at ''TIME'' magazine

Ronald Reagan at CNN

Ronald Reagan—BBC biography

An hour remembrance of Ronald Reagan with Charlie Rose, June 8, 2004

Essays and historiographies

Extensive essay on Ronald Reagan and essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs

Introduction of ''Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s'', a detailed account of Reagan's impact on the United States

Site directories

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name	The Newbeats
background	group_or_band
origin	Shreveport, Louisiana
genre	Pop
years active	1964–1974
label	HickoryBuddahPlayboy
past members	Larry HenleyDean MathisMark Mathis }}

The Newbeats were a popular music vocal trio, best known for their 1964 hit, "Bread and Butter", which was released on the Hickory Records label.

Members

The group's members were: Larry Henley (born Lawrence Joel Henley, June 30, 1941, Arp, Texas) Dean Mathis (born Louis Aldine Mathis, March 17, 1939, Hahira, Georgia) Mark Mathis (born Marcus Felton Mathis, February 9, 1942, Hahira).

Biography

Their mother taught brothers Dean and Mark Mathis the guitar as children, and they soon mastered other musical instruments - piano, bass guitar and drums. They both played in the band at Bremen High School, Georgia and decided on a career in the music industry upon leaving education. Dean joined Paul Howard's Western Swing Band in 1956 as pianist, then joined Dale Hawkins' band where his brother enrolled playing bass. They stayed with the band for two years, recording "Tell Him No" as a duo for the Chess record label. They then started their own eight piece band and played in their hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. It was here that they met Larry Henley who auditioned for the band. A parting of the ways ensued when Henley tried his luck as a solo artist, and the brothers worked as a duo, both recording independently for Wesley Rose.

After about eighteen months they jointly made a demo of a song entitled "Bread and Butter", sent it to Hickory Records and were asked to formally record the track.

"Bread and Butter" was the group's first hit. Written by Larry Parks and Jay Turnbow, the record reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over one million copies in the U.S. Three more singles followed in 1964 and 1965. "Run Baby Run (Back Into My Arms)" reached as high as number 12 that fall, but it was the trio's penultimate chart entry, although they remained with Hickory until 1972. Brief stints at Buddha and Playboy followed before the Newbeats dissolved in 1974.

Several of the Groups singles were rediscovered by the Northern Soul movement in the early 1970s. "Run Baby Run" made #10 in the UK. Pop Charts (higher than its original U.S. position), whilst Don't Turn Me Loose and Crying My Heart Out Over You are popular tracks with the 'Soul Crowd'.

Henley is probably now best known as the co-songwriter of "Wind Beneath My Wings". In 2002, Bruce Channel and Ricky Ray Hector recorded a project with Larry Henley, billed as Original Copy.

The Newbeats' track "Bread and Butter", features on the soundtrack to the 1998 comedy-drama film, ''Simon Birch''; and was used for an advertisement campaign for Schmidt's Blue Ribbon Bread. It was also featured in the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy, ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy''.

Singles discography

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title(Songwriter) ! US ! UK ! AUS |- | 1964 | "Bread and Butter"(Larry Parks and Jay Turnbow) | #2 | #15 | #8 |- | 1964 | "Everything's Alright"(John D. Loudermilk) | #16 | - | #53 |- | 1965 | "(The Birds Are for the Bees) The Birds Are for the Bees"(Bob Finnicum, Larry Parks and Jay Turnbow) | #50 | - | #41 |- | 1965 | "Break Away (From That Boy)"(Louis Al and Marcus Mathis) | #40 | - | #7 |- | 1965 | "Run, Baby, Run (Back Into My Arms)"(Don Gant and Joe Melson) | #12 | #10 † | #66

† UK hit belatedly in October 1971 |- | 1966 | "Shake Hands (And Come Out Crying)"(Doug Kershaw) |

#92 | - | - |- | 1969 | "Groovin' (Out On LIfe) / Bread And Butter

See also

Where the Action Is

List of performances on Top of the Pops

References

External links

[ Allmusic]

The Newbeats Discography, Hickory Sessionography and Reviews archived page 14 November 2007 at Internet Archive

Category:American vocal groups Category:Musical trios Category:Musical groups established in 1964 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1974

de:The Newbeats nl:The Newbeats sv:The Newbeats

name	Kathy Kirby
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kathleen O'Rourke
born	October 20, 1938Ilford, Essex, England
died	May 19, 2011London, England
instrument	Vocals
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer
years active	1963–1983
label	Decca Records
past members	}}

Kathy Kirby (born Kathleen O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer who was reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in second place. Her physical appearance often drew comparisons with Marilyn Monroe. She peaked in popularity in the 1960s.

Early life

Kirby was born in Ilford, Essex. She was the eldest of three children of Irish parents. Her mother Eileen brought them up alone after their father left early in their childhood. Kirby grew up in Tomswood Hill, Barkingside, near Ilford and attended the Ursuline Convent School in Ilford where she sang in the choir.

Career

Kirby's voice became apparent early in life, and she took singing lessons with a view to becoming an opera singer She became a professional singer after meeting bandleader Bert Ambrose at the Ilford Palais in 1956. She remained with Ambrose's band for three years and he remained her manager, mentor and lover until his death on stage in Leeds in 1971.

She adopted the look of a "blonde bombshell", and was compared to Marilyn Monroe. She had five Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1965, the best known of which is her cover version of "Secret Love". In 1963 she won Top British Female Singer in the ''New Musical Express'' poll.

Kirby became one of the biggest stars of the early to mid 1960s, appearing in the Royal Command Variety Performance and three television series for BBC TV. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965, and came second with the song "I Belong". Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor describes Kirby's "I Belong" as being far more representative of current musical tastes than other songs from the contest, but she was beaten by France Gall from Luxembourg, singing an even more contemporary song written by Serge Gainsbourg. She also sang the theme tune of the BBC television series ''Adam Adamant Lives!''.

After the chart success of "I Belong", Kirby recorded more than a dozen more singles between 1965 and 1967, but they all failed to chart. She continued to make television appearances, and her 1974 appearance on ''The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'' TV variety show is available to watch on YouTube.

During the 1970s Kirby's singing career was eclipsed by a turbulent personal life, but she made occasional television appearances and performed a few live concerts on the "nostalgia circuit". On 31 December 1976, she performed her hit song "Secret Love" on BBC1's ''A Jubilee Of Music'', celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

In December 1983 she gave one last concert in Blackpool, then retired from show business altogether.

Post-retirement

She did not perform in public after her retirement, but an amateur recording of Kirby singing the song "He", made about 2005, is available online.

Interest in Kirby and her work continued long after she stopped performing particularly among gay men, for whom she was something of an icon. In her last decade, she recorded short greetings for her official website, A biography was published in 2005, and there was a 2008 stage show about her life, called ''Secret Love''.

The ''Daily Express'' reported in 2008 that plans for a new filmed interview had been abandoned, but later reports confirmed that the interview had been filmed, and it was subsequently included on a DVD compilation released the following year. She also gave an interview to the ''Express'' in 2009, billed as her first in 26 years, although a previous one had been published in 2006 , which included recent photographs.

Following the 2009 interview, the ''Sunday Express'' reported that some previously unreleased recordings would be made available on CD in 2010, and that Kirby had been approached to appear on ''Desert Island Discs''., although neither the programme nor the CD has appeared.

Personal life

Kirby met Ambrose in her teens and, despite the 42-year age gap and his having an estranged wife at the time, began a relationship with him which lasted until his death in 1971. In the 2009 interview, she said she had had an affair with Bruce Forsyth during this time.

Kirby was married briefly to writer and former London policeman Frederick Pye in the 1970s. Following her bankruptcy in 1975, and a court case following an arrest over an unpaid hotel bill, she was referred to St Luke's psychiatric hospital in London in 1979. Following her discharge, she had a live-in lesbian relationship with a fan, Laraine McKay, and said that they intended to marry. McKay was imprisoned for fraud and forgery. In the early 1980s, Kirby had relationships with musician David Cross and lawyer Alan Porter.

Kirby was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was in poor physical and mental health for much of her life. Following her retirement, she lived in a series of apartments and hotels in West London, settling in an apartment in Emperor's Gate, South Kensington, surviving on state benefits and some royalties, many of which went missing and maintaining what has been called a "Garbo-esque" seclusion. Very shortly before her death, Kirby moved to Brinsworth House in Twickenham.

One of Kirby's nieces, Sarah, is married to Mark Thatcher and another, Claudia, became Lady Rothermere after marrying Viscount Rothermere.

Death

Kirby moved to Brinsworth House, a retirement home for entertainers, in May 2011, and died there a few days later on 19 May 2011. According to a message from a relative posted on a fan website, Kirby suffered a heart attack, but this has not been officially confirmed.

She is survived by her sister, Pat, and her brother, Douglas.

Hits

Year	Title	Chart positions
	"Dance On"
	"Let Me Go, Lover!"
"You're The One"
1965

Note: Kirby had one charted single on the US Billboard Hot 100. "The Way Of Love" peaked at #88 in 1965; Cher also recorded the track.

See also

List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s

List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

List of performers on Top of the Pops

List of artists under the Decca Records label

Royal Variety Performance

United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965

United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1965

References

External links

Official website

"Authorised tribute page" run by a friend

A Kathy Kirby YouTube Video

Category:1938 births Category:2011 deaths Category:British Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Decca Records artists Category:English female singers Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English pop singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1965 Category:People from Ilford Category:People with schizophrenia Category:Traditional pop music singers

de:Kathy Kirby fr:Kathy Kirby ga:Kathy Kirby lb:Kathy Kirby nl:Kathy Kirby pt:Kathy Kirby sh:Kathy Kirby sv:Kathy Kirby