Ronald Reagan - 1985 inauguration

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former President Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States in 1981.

In a landslide Electoral College victory, Reagan defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Reagan won with 489 electoral votes, compared to Carter's 49.

Just 70 days after he came to office, Reagan was shot, but survived the assassination attempt.

Reagan inherited a terribly weakened economy from Carter and instituted a history-making economic policy that would come to be referred to as "Reaganomics." The policy, which was a combination of deep tax cuts, tight control of the money supply, and less government intervention in the economy, established him as an icon in the Republican Party.

The two-term president served from 1981 to 1989. He was re-elected in 1984. In another landslide electoral victory, Reagan defeated Democrat Walter Mondale with 523 electoral votes to Mondale's 13.

During his second term, Reagan underwent surgery for colon cancer. While he was in surgery, he transferred power to Vice President George H.W. Bush, marking the first time a president voluntarily yielded his power to another.

He is the oldest person elected president at age 69.

He passed away in June of 2004 at the age of 93.