Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois. He had a happy childhood. His father, John Edward “Jack” Reagan, was a shoe salesman. His mother, Nelle Wilson Reagan, taught her son how to read when he was five years old. Reagan worked at various jobs while growing up and attending local public schools. He then enrolled at Eureka College in Illinois where he played football and made average grades, graduating in 1932.