In 1940, before he was President, Ronald Reagan married actress Sarah Jane Mayfield, known as Jane Wyman. Jane, incidentally, was born in St. Joe, Missouri, not too far from Kansas City, the birthplace of stillbirthday.
Wyman’s first husband was Ernest Eugene Wyman. While some say this is the surname she carried forth even after their divorce, others say that she acquired this surname from her foster mother.
Her second husband was Myron Martin Futterman. Their marriage ended three months after it began because Wyman wanted children, and her husband did not.
Wyman and Ronald Reagan co-starred in Brother Rat, a film released in 1938. They were married in January, 1940.
- Their first child was Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (1941 – 2001).
- Their second child was Michael Edward Reagan (March 18, 1945 – ). The Reagans adopted Michael.
- Their third child was Christine Reagan. She was born June 26, 1947, apparently 4 weeks premature. Some reports say that she was stillborn. Others say she lived for 9 hours, dying on June 27, 1947.
Their divorce was filed in 1948. President Ronald Reagan is the only president to have been divorced.
While reports state that Jane’s reason for the divorce was a difference in political opinion, others speculate that their bereavement may have played a part. Ronald considered himself a Democrat until the 1950s when he presented bi-partisan speeches for General Electric. Influenced by Lemuel Boulware and his wife Nancy, Ronald formally switched to the Republican party in 1962.
In 1952 Wyman married music composer Fred Karger. In 1955, the two divorced. In 1961 the two remarried, but in 1965, they divorced once again.
Reagan was an actor, served in the military, was a Screen Actor’s Guild President, and a secret informant to the FBI.
He met actress Nancy Davis in 1949, when she sought him out for support regarding her name mistakenly appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood.
They were married in 1952 and had two children together:
- Patti, born October 21, 1952
- Ron, born May 20, 1958
After the 1964 A Time for Choosing speech, Ronald Reagan became Governor of California, from 1967 to 1975.
“You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream – the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order – or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.”
Reagan’s first presidential campaign was in 1975, when he narrowly lost the nomination to Gerald Ford.
He ran again in 1980. He was President of the United States of America for two terms, from 1981 until January 1989.
Proclamation 5890 was signed on October 25, 1988.
Related: 25 Year Remembrance Hot Air Balloon Ride and Free Hearts Release
Christine’s older sister, Maureen, and older brother, Michael.
Michael was adopted into the Reagan family.
