Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, oversaw the United States response to the emergence of the HIV/AIDS crisis during the 1980s. His actions, or lack thereof, have long been a source of controversy and have been widely criticized by LGBT and AIDS advocacy organizations.
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
Ronald and Nancy Reagan with Rock Hudson at a White House State Dinner on May 15, 1984. Hudson is HIV-positive in this photo, though he is not yet aware of this.
Reagan delivers his first speech on AIDS at a fundraising dinner for the American Foundation for AIDS Research on May 31, 1987.
Image: A pink triangle against a black backdrop with the words 'Silence=Death' representing an advertisement for The Silence = Death Project used by permission by ACT UP, The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Wellcome L0052822
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, his presidency constituted the Reagan era, and he is considered one of the most prominent conservative figures in American history.
Official portrait, 1981
Dark Victory (1939)
Reagan at Fort Roach, between 1943 and 1944
Reagan and Jane Wyman, 1942
