===Assassination Attempt===
Outside the Washington Hilton Hotel<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tMrEP4Y6whwC&pg=PA64 The Reagan Era from the Iran Crisis to Kosovo]</ref> on March 30, 1981, Reagan was shot by [[John W. Hinckley]] near the heart after giving a routine speech.<ref>The assassin was [[John Hinckley]], a mentally disturbed man who didn't shoot Reagan for political reasons, but instead did to impress an actress he had never met.</ref> Surgeons at [[George Washington University]] Hospital saved his life and despite his age, he recovered quickly. Prior to the operation, Reagan looked up at the doctors and said "I Hope you're all Republicans". Dr. Joseph Giordano, the head surgeon at GWU Hospital confirmed the story, and replied to the president "We are all Republicans today".<ref>[http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/historical/a/ronald_reagan.htm Ronald Reagan: Grace Under the Scalpel]</ref>
To his wife Nancy he said, "honey, I forgot to duck."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/31/us/honey-i-forgot-to-duck-injured-reagan-tells-wife.html'Honey, I Forgot To Duck,' Injured Reagan Tells Wife], ''The New York Times'', March 31, 1981.</ref>
White House Press Secretary [[James Brady]] was shot in the head, became permanently disabled; Brady then became an icon of the [[gun control|anti-gun]] movement.
==Excellent sense of humor==
The opposite of many of today's politicians, Reagan had an excellent sense of humor<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTIfGFJqLko</ref>. When he had almost been assassinated, he removed his oxygen mask and cracked a joke "I hope you're all Republicans".<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/i-hope-you-are-all-republicans-john-j-miller/</ref> Reagan also poked fun at his age multiple times, such as when he answered a question in a presidential debate against Walter Mondale about his age. His response to that question included the words "I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience".<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJhCjMfRndk</ref> The one-liner was so humorous and clever that even Mondale genuinely laughed at it. In addition, Reagan had also once humorously remarked that the "nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'"<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhYJS80MgYA</ref>
==Sunset==
Opening up to the Anerican people about his Alzheimer's diagnosis, from his last words in a Nov 5, 1994 letter:<ref>[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/reagans-letter-announcing-his-alzheimers-diagnosis Reagan's Letter Announcing his Alzheimer's Diagnosis], Reagan Library.</ref>
<blockquote>I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.
Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.
</blockquote>
==Miscellaneous Facts==
*Reagan was the first president to break the so-called "Curse of Tippecanoe," i.e., the first president elected in a twenty-year cycle who did not die in office (although an attempt was made on his life in 1981).
==External links==
*[https://www.hoover.org/research/how-great-was-ronald-reagan How Great Was Ronald Reagan?], [[Hoover Institution]]
*[https://reaganlibrary.archives.gov/archives/photographs/history.html Historical Photographs], from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
*[https://reaganlibrary.gov/major-speeches-index Ronald Reagan's Major Speeches, 1964-89]