Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. He joined the army in 1942 and later had a career in Hollywood before entering politics. Reagan was governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and won the presidency in 1980 and 1984, helping to end the Cold War through diplomacy with Mikhail Gorbachev. He and his wife Nancy had two children and Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after leaving office.