Chronology of Ronald Reagan, the President

1981 - On January 20, Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. On the same day, Iran released the 52 remaining hostages who had been held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days, while Carter was president.

• On February 18, Reagan unveiled his "program for economic recovery" to a Joint Session of Congress in which he called for $41.4 billion in cuts from the Carter budget, mostly from programs to benefit the poor, and vowed to maintain a ‘safety net’ for the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. He also called for a 30% tax cut over three years and an increase in defense expenditures, and vowed not to cut Social Security.
• On March 30, John Hinkley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan
• On July 29, Congress passed Reagan’s tax bill. Instead of a 30% tax cut, Reagan accepted 25%. Reagan predicted the nation would be "seeing some signs" of prosperity by end of the year.
• On August 3, air traffic controllers (PATCO) went on strike. Reagan gave them 48 hours to return to work, and fired those who did not return.
• In September, Reagan appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
• In December, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12333 authorizing a covert C.I.A. operation to support the Contras in Nicaragua - guerilla warriors who were trying to overthrow the rule of the Communist Sandinista government. Thus, from 1981 through 1986, the first secret support of the U.S. government for the Contra military and paramilitary groups began in Nicaragua.

1982 In January 6, Reagan sent his budget to Congress with big cuts, except on defense, which is slightly under $200 billion. The budget projects a deficit of $91.5 billion.

• On June 6, Israel invaded Lebanon in an effort to evict the Palestine Liberation Organization from Lebanon.
• On July 6, Reagan agreed "in principle" to send a small number of troops to Beirut as a "peace keeping force" between warring Christian and Muslim factions.
• On August 25, U.S. Marines arrive in Lebanon.
• In Fall, the nation fell into its worst recession since the Great Depression. Reagan feared budget deficits as high as $200 billion. On November 1, more than 9 million Americans were officially unemployed.
• On October 28, the Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev condemned the U.S. for arms buildup. In a speech to Soviet generals and Defense Ministry officials, he said that the U.S. was pursuing policy of "adventurism, rudeness, and undisguised egoism" that threatens "to push the world into the flames of nuclear war."
• On November 10, Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev died and was succeeded by Yuri Andropov.

1983 In January the official unemployment rate reached 11.5 million. Reagan's approval rating plummeted to 35%.

• On March 8, in a speech to National Association of Evangelicals meeting in Orlando, Florida, Reagan said that U.S.S.R. is the "focus of evil in the modern world."
• On March 23, Reagan unveiled his proposal for a Space Defense Initiative (SDI) in a national speech. Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrinyn says SDI would "open a new phase in the arms race."
• On September 1, the Korean Air Lines jet (KAL 007) was bought down by Soviet fighter. All of the 269 people aboard perished, 61 of whom were U.S. citizens. Reagan denounced it as a "crime against humanity."
• On October 23, a suicide truck bomber killed 241 members of the U.S. peacekeeping force stationed in Beirut, Lebanon, when he crashed into the Marines barracks - making it the deadliest terrorist attack on Americans prior to Sept. 11.
• On October 25, 5,000 U.S. troops invaded the island nation to protect against a perceived Communist threat in Grenada, and to protect U.S. medical students from growing unrest.

1984 On January 16, Reagan's speech on US - USSR relations called for a return to arms talks and to parallel sets of nuclear arms talks in Geneva and in Vienna to reduce conventional forces in Europe. The speech reflected a considerable shift in tone from his previous statements on the Soviet Union.

• On January 20, Secretary of State Charles Shultz designated Iran as sponsor of international terrorism.
• On January 29, Reagan announced he will seek reelection. The "Morning in America" campaign began.
• On February 9, Yuri Andropov died of kidney failure and was succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.
• On March 3, a high-ranking CIA agent, William Buckley, was kidnapped by terrorists in Lebanon.
• On April 16, Reagan signed a directive for aggressive posture to terrorism. The new policy was officially designated National Security Decision Directive 138.
• On July 19, Walter Mondale accepted the presidential nomination at the Democratic convention.
• On October 7, the first Reagan-Mondale debate took place in Louisville. Reagan’s performance was so bad that press questions his ability to continue serving. Raises the "age issue."
• On October 21, the second debate between Reagan and Mondale took place in which Reagan addresses the age question with a quip "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."
• On November 4, Reagan defeated Mondale in a landslide. Reagan carried 49 states -- 525 electoral votes to Mondale's 10, and 59% of the popular vote. One fourth of registered Democrats voted for Reagan.

1985 On January 20, Reagan was sworn in for a second term. In a surprise announcement, he said he would meet with Soviet leader, Konstantin Chernenko.

• On March 11, Konstantin Chernenko died and was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev.
• On May 5, the Reagan Administration admited to a policy of sponsoring armed insurgencies against Soviet-backed governments in the Third World, which was called the "Reagan Doctrine. The Doctrine was based firmly in Reagan’s vision of the world that consisted of “three principle elements:
  • U.S. foreign policy must be based upon American ideals of democracy and self-government;
  • these democratic and self-government ideals were desired by all peoples; and
  • the U.S has a special mission to help spread and promote democratic governments around the world.
  • Such a foreign policy, Reagan believed, would provide security for the United States.
• On June 3, William Buckley, who had been held hostage in Lebanon since March of 1984, died of medical neglect. His death was kept secret.
• On June 14, TWA Flight 847 - with 153 passengers aboard, 135 of whom are Americas - was hijacked from Athens by terrorists. The pilot was forced to fly to Beirut, where hijackers beat and killed Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, then dumped his body on the tarmac. The plane was flown back to Algiers then back to Beirut again. Most passengers were released, but 39 were held captive in Lebanon. On June 30, the 39 hostages were freed.
• On November 19, at the Geneva Summit Reagan and Gorbachev had a one-hour conversation. The meeting ended with disagreement on SDI, but with mutual invitations to Washington and Moscow, a pledge to seek a 50% reduction in nuclear arms, and a statement that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought."
• From 1985-1986 the U.S. government was involved in efforts to obtain the release of Americans held hostage in the Middle East in exchange for the sale of U.S. weapons to Iran - weapons funneled through Israel - despite a U.S. Congressional embargo on such sales. What became known as Iran-Contra operations merged in 1985 when funds generated from the sale of weapons to Iran were diverted to support the Contra effort in Nicaragua.

1986 On January 28, the U.S. space shuttle "Challenger" exploded only 73 seconds after takeoff. In addition to the six astronauts onboard, teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to go into space, also perished.

• On October 11, the Reykjavik Summit opened. Gorbachev proposed a drastic cuts in all classes of nuclear weapons. Reagan agreed. Then Gorbachev told Reagan this agreement only held if the U.S. confined SDI to the laboratory. Reagan walked away from Summit.
• On December 2, a New York Times poll reported Reagan's approval dropped from 67% to 46% in one month. Decrease is largely due to the Iran-Contra scandal.

1987 On January 5, Reagan submitted his first-ever $1 trillion budget for fiscal year 1988.

• On January 6, the100th Congress began with a Democratic majority in both houses.
• On March 4, Reagan acknowledged on national television that mistakes were made in regard to Iran-Contra. "A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions tell me that's true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not. As the Tower Board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind. There are reasons why it happened, but no excuses. It was a mistake." Reagan's approval rating rebounded to 51%.
• On May 17, a missile from an Iraqi warplane hits the U.S.S. Stark, killing the 37 sailors onboard. The frigate was part of a naval task force which was sent to the Persian Gulf to keep the waterway open during the Iran-Iraq war.
• On June 12, Reagan, in a speech at the Brandenberg Gate, asked Gorbachev to raze the Berlin Wall. "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
• On July 16, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Reagan, and praised his leadership. The trip was widely viewed as an attempt by Thatcher, Reagan's closest overseas ally, to help reinvigorate the Reagan administration, which had been damaged by the Iran-Contra affair.
• On October 19, the stock market dropped 500 points. The drop was partially blamed on rising deficits.
• On December 8, the Washington Summit opened. Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces INF treaty, which eliminated 4% of the superpowers’ nuclear arsenals. It was the first U.S.-Soviet treaty to provide for destruction of nuclear weapons and to provide for on-site monitoring of the destruction. Leading Conservatives were critical of the treaty.
  

1988 On April 14, the Soviets agreed to end the Soviet Afghan War and to begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan, beginning May 15, 1988 and finishing by Feb 15, 1989.

• On May 27, the Senate ratified the INF treaty and became the first arms-control agreement since the 1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) to receive Senate approval.
• On May 29, Reagan was in Moscow for a summit. Muscovites lined the streets to greet his motorcade with cheers.
• On May 30, Reagan held dinner for dissidents at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
• On May 31, Reagan gave a speech to students at Moscow State University beneath gigantic bust of Lenin. "We do not know what the conclusion will be of this journey, but we’re hopeful that the promise of reform will be fulfilled. In this Moscow spring, this May 1988, we may be allowed that hope: that freedom, like the fresh green sapling planted over Tolstoy’s grave, will blossom forth at last in the rich fertile soil of your people and culture."
• On June 29, Reagan made his first campaign appearance on behalf of George Bush in Miami.
• In June, U.S. unemployment hit a 14-year low.
• On November 8, Vice President George Bush defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis to become the 41st President of the United States.
• On December 7, the last Reagan-Gorbachev meeting was held with President-Elect Bush.
• On December 21, A Pan Am plane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people onboard and 11 people on the ground were killed. An investigation revealed that the explosion was the result of a Libyan terrorist attack.

1989 On January 11, in his farewell address, Reagan stated: "They called it the Reagan revolution. Well, I’ll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense."

• On January 20, George Bush was inaugurated; Ronald and Nancy Reagan flew to California and Reagan left office with the highest approval rating of any president since Franklin Roosevelt.
• In March, Soviet citizens were allowed to vote in nationwide elections for the first time. The following month, newly elected President Gorbachev announced that the U.S.S.R. will become democratic.
• From April through June, pro-democracy student protests were held in Tiananmen Square in China. Confrontations between students and police turned deadly after the Communist government declared martial law.
• In June, Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland. Shortly thereafter, the Eastern European Soviet Bloc countries -- Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Rumania -- also shed communism for democracy.
• In November, the Berlin Wall was opened.
• Reagan published his life story, An American Life.

1991 On November 4, the Reagan Library and Museum, located in Simi Valley, California., was dedicated.

• On December 15, Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet Union.
  

1994 On November 5, Reagan addressed a letter to the American people in which he disclosed that he is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. This was his last public appearance.

2004 On June 5, Ronald Reagan died peacefully at his home in California. At age 93, he was the longest-lived president in American history.