Maybe you even ignore the politics and focus on his star-studded film career, where he received his "Gipper" nickname. Revered by the conservatives and bemoaned by liberals, the legacy of Reagan continues to polarize Americans.

The GOP admiration for Reagan has spilled over into the 2016 Presidential Election, with candidates trying to leverage their connection to Reagan, or pundits voicing their opinions on which candidate most resembles the 40th president. There are even those that think that modern Democrats bear a greater resemblance to Reagan than members of the Republican party.

While the debate regarding Reagan's legacy will rage on, the team at InsideGov queried our presidential database for 25 facts about America's oft-referenced 40th president. The list of lesser known Reagan facts is organized from smallest to largest numbers.

Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981 to the Supreme Court, making her the first female Justice. She stepped down from her position in 2006. Recently, O'Connor made headlines for her urging of President Barack Obama to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death.

Although Reagan ran for the presidency on the Republican ticket, he used to be part of the Democratic Party. As a supporter of F.D.R. and the New Deal, he even campaigned for a Democrat during the 1950 Senate race. His views began to lean conservative during his time as spokesperson for General Electric and he made the party switch in 1962.

The average annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during Reagan's presidency was 3.4 percent, which is considered very healthy. Conservatives list this economic success as one of the reasons Reagan's reforms should be looked to as an example in the modern age.

As the "Great Communicator," Reagan braved the Cold War political climate and reached out to Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. They attended four different international summits together. Gorbachev worked as a key leader in bringing an end to the Cold War and received the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize "for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community."

While Reagan made history by successfully appointing the first female supreme Court Justice, he also successfully appointed two additional Justices to the highest court. Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy were nominated by Reagan and unanimously approved by the Senate. Justice William Rehnquist was elevated by Reagan to the position of Chief Justice and approved on Sept. 17, 1986. He was first nominated to the Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon. However, appointments did not always run smoothly for Reagan. The Senate rejected Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork in 1987.

Douglas Ginsberg was a nominee for the position in 1987 but was forced to withdraw before any vote after he admitted to his history of marijuana use.

Reagan ended his presidency with an inflation rate of 4.08 percent. Although this rate alone is unremarkable, it went down from 10.33 percent -- a significant decrease. An ideal inflation rate is closer to 2 percent, which signals stability and protects a country from deflation. When inflation rates drop, so do interest rates, which drive the economy.

Reagan fathered three children from his marriage to Jane Wyman and two with Nancy Reagan. By the time he became president, all but one of his children were adults. His youngest, Ron Reagan, stirred up controversy when he dropped out of Yale University to pursue a ballet career.

When Reagan left office, employment was at a healthy 5.4 percent. Although unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent in 1982, there was a net decrease of 2 percent during the course of his administration. Journalists look at these figures when comparing the recovery experienced during the Reagan and Obama administrations.

On March 30,1981, a gunman named John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan. Six shots were fired and four men, including Reagan, were injured. The shooter was later determined not guilty by reason of insanity -- the motivation of the attack was to impress actress Jodie Foster.

At 6-feet-1-inch, Reagan was one of the taller presidents. Interestingly, many presidential campaigns are won by the heavier or taller candidates.

Although Nancy Reagan was the first lady, she was not Reagan's first wife. Reagan's first marriage to Jane Wyman lasted eight years and ended in 1948. He went on to marry Nancy Davis Reagan in 1952. He remains the only president to ever have been divorced.

While many remember Reagan as a president that got the economy back on track, he also significantly increased the federal debt as the government budget operated on a deficit. During his presidency, the federal debt increased an average of 12.9 percent per year and 190 percent after all eight years. Reagan barely compared to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his role-model, who increased the debt by over 1,000 percent.

Through the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, Reagan decreased the marginal income tax rates in the U.S. by 23 percent over three years (1982, 1983 and 1984). This was a move typical of his "Reaganomics," where taxes, spending and regulations were decreased. Proponents of the free market approach thought the success of the wealthy would trickle down to the rest of the workforce.

In 1982, Reagan signed legislation that extended the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for another 25 years. It guaranteed voting equality to minorities and removed barriers that could lead to voter disenfranchisement. Upon signing the bill, Reagan reflected that "the right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished."

In the 1984 presidential election against former Vice President Walter Mondale, Reagan carried 49 states in the general election. He received 59 percent of the popular vote and 98 percent of the electoral college.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, enacted in 1988, expanded protection to workers by requiring companies of 100 or more employees to provide employees with 60 days' notice before any closings or mass layoffs. Reagan refused to sign this law because it decreased the flexibility of businesses and the "European experience has proven that notification mandated by law does not create or save one job."

The Reagan Presidency could be seen as fairly popular, which ended with a 63 percent approval rating. It peaked at 68 percent in May 1981, following the attempted assassination, and again in May 1986.

Reagan, at the age of 69, became the oldest president to be inaugurated. He made the presidential oath of office with a family bible that he received from his mother.

The Iran Hostage Crisis, where more than 60 Americans were held hostage after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overrun by Islamic extremists, went on for 444 days. It began Nov. 4, 1979, under President Jimmy Carter and ended on Jan 20, 1981, minutes after Reagan's inauguration. Jimmy Carter blamed his failed 1980 bid for re-election on his inability to successfully rescue the hostages.

Reagan sent a peacekeeping force of 800 U.S. Marines to Lebanon after the 1982 invasion by Israel. They were part of multinational peacekeeping force that was meant to diffuse the tensions that could escalate into an Arab-Israeli war. The situation proved increasingly hostile with suicide bombers and political assassinations. Months after the implementation of the National Security Decision Directive 111, Reagan announced the final withdrawal of the Marines on Feb. 7, 1984.

In 1987, Reagan spoke at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." Former Secretary of State George Shultz speculated that the speech is memorable because the change Reagan called for came to fruition. This enduring symbol of the Soviet Union came down two years later along with the reunification of Germany and fall of the Soviet Union.

This president certainly had a sweet tooth that made its mark on candy history. For his 1981 inauguration, 3.5 tons of red, white and blue Jelly Belly brand jelly beans were delivered. This sweet love affair was immortalized in a portrait of Reagan made from jelly beans that now hangs in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike on Aug. 3, 1981 after union negotiations collapsed. Thousands of flights were canceled by this strike. Reagan ordered that the controllers return to work and the 11,345 workers that refused were subsequently fired. PATCO lost its union certification following the fiasco. This incident cemented the nature of Reagan's tough-love partnership with labor.

The need for effective immigration reform is an enduring issue that Reagan attempted to solve in 1986. Much like the 2013 "Gang of Eight" Senate proposal plan, Reagan's Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to those living in the country illegally that arrived in the U.S. before 1982, while simultaneously increasing border security and work verification programs.

The Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly referred to as Reagan's "Star Wars," ended up costing $30 billion during the ten years it was active. The initiative referred to a series of research programs focused on innovations such as space-based lasers, missiles and satellites.
Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich. described it as the "largest and least justified program in the defense budget." The initiative lost momentum after the end of the Cold War.