Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., 93, who became the 38th president of the United States as a result of some of the most extraordinary events in U.S. history and sought to restore the nation's confidence in the basic institutions of government, has died. His wife, Betty, reported the death in a statement last night.
"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Betty Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."
Ford died at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday (PST) at his home in Rancho Mirage, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, his office said. No cause of death was given. Ford had battled pneumonia in January and underwent two heart treatments -- including an angioplasty -- in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Funeral services will take place in Washington and Grand Rapids, Mich., his boyhood home, the Associated Press reported, and public viewings will be held in California, Washington and Grand Rapids. Details had not been announced as of this morning.
President Bush was notified of Ford's death shortly before 11 p.m., at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., the White House said. He called Betty Ford to offer his condolences.
"For a nation that needed healing, and for an office that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most," Bush said this morning. He praised Ford's integrity and "great rectitude" and said the nation will always be grateful for his service.
President Gerald Ford
Gerald R. Ford, 93, Dies
President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan dies at 93
Saturday, June 5, 2004
-- Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.
Reagan led a conservative revolution that set the economic and cultural tone of the 1980s, hastened the end of the Cold War and revitalized the Republican Party. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least late 1994.
His wife, Nancy Davis Reagan, and their two children, Ronald Jr. and Patty Davis, were with him when he died at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles.
Michael Reagan, his adopted son from his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, arrived at the home shortly before news of the death. Maureen Reagan, his daughter from that marriage, died of brain cancer in 2001.
Reagan's body is to lie in state at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., before his burial at the library.
President Bush responded to Reagan's death in Paris, France, where he is on tour to honor the heroes of World War II on the weekend of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
"He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save. During the years of President Reagan, America laid to rest an era of division and self-doubt, and, because of his leadership, the world laid to rest an era of fear and tyranny," Bush said. (Bush statement)
Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, said "history will give Reagan great credit for standing for principles."
"It was wonderful the way that he could take a stand, and do it without bitterness or without creating enmity with other people," said the elder Bush, who was Reagan's vice president.
Nancy Reagan issued a brief statement to announce her husband's death. "We appreciate everyone's prayers over the years," she said.
Michael Reagan released a statement soon after his father's death.
"I pray that as America reflects on the passing of my dad, they will remember a man of integrity, conviction and good humor that changed America and the world for the better," Michael Reagan said. "He would modestly say the credit goes to others, but I believe the credit is his."
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, issued a statement that praised the former president for his optimistic outlook.
"Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere," their statement said.
Presidential historian Robert Dallek spoke of Reagan's contributions to the office.
"He restored a kind of confidence in the presidency, and a better mood in the United States about politics and politicians and about the presidency," Dallek said.
'Long journey'
At a fund-raiser last month, Nancy Reagan described her husband's condition.
"Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him," she said. "Because of this I'm determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain."
Alzheimer's is a progressive, irreversible, incurable neurological disorder that causes losses of memory and mental abilities -- eventually leading to dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site.
She also called for increased funding for stem-cell research, which has shown promise as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's and other conditions, such as Parkinson's disease.
"Now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp," Reagan told an audience in Los Angeles. "I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this."
Human stem-cell research is controversial, because it uses cells harvested from newly fertilized embryos. Bush signed an executive order in 2001, banning the use of federal funds to harvest new lines of stem cells for medical research.
Assassination attempt
Reagan disclosed in November 1994 in a passionate letter to the American people that he has Alzheimer's disease. Reagan faded from public view a short time later and has been rarely seen outside his home.
The former Hollywood film actor stopped going to his Century City office in 1999 but still made trips to parks and enjoyed strolls on the Venice Beach boardwalk with his Secret Service contingent.
At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected president when he was chosen on November 4, 1980, over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.
On March 30, 1981, Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after addressing labor leaders when John Hinckley fired six gunshots at him. A bullet lodged an inch from Reagan's heart, but he recovered fully.
In 1984, he defeated Democrat Walter Mondale.
Reagan has also undergone a 1985 colon cancer operation and 1987 prostate and skin-cancer surgery.
He fell and broke his hip in 2001, less than a month before his 90th birthday.
Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.
-- Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.
Reagan led a conservative revolution that set the economic and cultural tone of the 1980s, hastened the end of the Cold War and revitalized the Republican Party. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least late 1994.
His wife, Nancy Davis Reagan, and their two children, Ronald Jr. and Patty Davis, were with him when he died at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles.
Michael Reagan, his adopted son from his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, arrived at the home shortly before news of the death. Maureen Reagan, his daughter from that marriage, died of brain cancer in 2001.
Reagan's body is to lie in state at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., before his burial at the library.
President Bush responded to Reagan's death in Paris, France, where he is on tour to honor the heroes of World War II on the weekend of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
"He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save. During the years of President Reagan, America laid to rest an era of division and self-doubt, and, because of his leadership, the world laid to rest an era of fear and tyranny," Bush said. (Bush statement)
Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, said "history will give Reagan great credit for standing for principles."
"It was wonderful the way that he could take a stand, and do it without bitterness or without creating enmity with other people," said the elder Bush, who was Reagan's vice president.
Nancy Reagan issued a brief statement to announce her husband's death. "We appreciate everyone's prayers over the years," she said.
Michael Reagan released a statement soon after his father's death.
"I pray that as America reflects on the passing of my dad, they will remember a man of integrity, conviction and good humor that changed America and the world for the better," Michael Reagan said. "He would modestly say the credit goes to others, but I believe the credit is his."
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, issued a statement that praised the former president for his optimistic outlook.
"Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere," their statement said.
Presidential historian Robert Dallek spoke of Reagan's contributions to the office.
"He restored a kind of confidence in the presidency, and a better mood in the United States about politics and politicians and about the presidency," Dallek said.
'Long journey'
At a fund-raiser last month, Nancy Reagan described her husband's condition.
"Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him," she said. "Because of this I'm determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain."
Alzheimer's is a progressive, irreversible, incurable neurological disorder that causes losses of memory and mental abilities -- eventually leading to dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site.
She also called for increased funding for stem-cell research, which has shown promise as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's and other conditions, such as Parkinson's disease.
"Now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp," Reagan told an audience in Los Angeles. "I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this."
Human stem-cell research is controversial, because it uses cells harvested from newly fertilized embryos. Bush signed an executive order in 2001, banning the use of federal funds to harvest new lines of stem cells for medical research.
Assassination attempt
Reagan disclosed in November 1994 in a passionate letter to the American people that he has Alzheimer's disease. Reagan faded from public view a short time later and has been rarely seen outside his home.
The former Hollywood film actor stopped going to his Century City office in 1999 but still made trips to parks and enjoyed strolls on the Venice Beach boardwalk with his Secret Service contingent.
At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected president when he was chosen on November 4, 1980, over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.
On March 30, 1981, Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after addressing labor leaders when John Hinckley fired six gunshots at him. A bullet lodged an inch from Reagan's heart, but he recovered fully.
In 1984, he defeated Democrat Walter Mondale.
Reagan has also undergone a 1985 colon cancer operation and 1987 prostate and skin-cancer surgery.
He fell and broke his hip in 2001, less than a month before his 90th birthday.
Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln shot
US statesman and 16th president (1861–5), born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, USA. Born in a log cabin to a modest farm family, he moved early with his family to Indiana. His mother died in 1818 and his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, provided a fine model who inspired the ambitious but unschooled boy to discipline and educate himself. The Lincolns moved to Illinois (1830) and, after twice sailing a flatboat to New Orleans, he settled in New Salem, IL where he pursued workaday jobs while studying law on his own. In the 1832 Black Hawk War he served as a volunteer but saw no action. In 1835 he entered the Illinois state legislature as a Whig, and after unremarkable service he left the legislature (1841). In 1837 he began a law practice in Springfield, IL, and in 1842 married Mary Todd of a prominent Springfield family. His position as a prominent Whig in Illinois took him to the US House of Representatives (1847–9), where he again had a lacklustre record despite his opposition to the war in Mexico.
Back in Springfield, he gradually began to prosper as a lawyer, often representing business interests, but his eloquently stated if moderate anti-slavery views gained him increasing attention. This came to a head during his unsuccessful race (1858) for the US Senate against Stephen A Douglas, who led the Democratic accommodation to slave interests. The historic debates between the two men secured Lincoln a national following, which led to his becoming the presidential nominee of the new anti-slavery Republican Party in 1860. Although he received only 40% of the popular vote, due to a split in the Democratic Party, Lincoln won a majority of the Electoral College votes. Although he had stated his willingness to tolerate slavery where it currently existed, his election precipitated the secession of Southern states and the formation of the Confederacy.
In the years of civil war that followed, the inxperienced Lincoln proved to be one of the most extraordinary leaders, both political and moral, the USA has ever seen. First defining the war as being fought over secession rather than slavery, he oversaw the creation of the Union army. When the political time was right he announced the Emancipation Proclamation (Sep 1862), thereby interpreting the war as a crusade against slavery, and later oversaw the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) which legally ended slavery. With his immortal Gettysburg Address (Nov 1863), he further defined the war as the struggle for preservation of the democratic idea which he called ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’.
Meanwhile, he took a direct interest in the conduct of the war, hiring and firing generals, getting daily reports from the battlefields, and visiting the troops in the front lines. All this time he had also to mediate between the pressures of radical and conservative elements of the North, using an astute combination of suppression and conciliation, and barely surviving the election in 1864. Having seen the victory of the Union forces (Apr 1865), he was beginning to plan a generous reconstruction policy when he was shot by Southern fanatic John Wilkes Booth. He died the next day and his body was taken by train from Washington to be buried in Springfield, IL, as the nation he had refounded mourned their ‘Father Abraham’. Master of both a Biblical eloquence and a homespun vernacular, a natural at combining practical politics with moral principles, in only four years as president he had established why he is one of the few Americans who truly ‘belong to the ages’.
