Rush Limbaugh died on Wednesday after a 12-month battle with lung cancer, his wife Kathryn announced
He started his radio career in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, his hometown where he got a job aged 16 at the local station that his father co-owned
He bounced around local stations in the 70s and 80s before going national in New York in 1988
Limbaugh, a prolific conservative with controversial views, was loathed in NYC so moved to Florida
That is where he grew his radio show and public image to become a beloved Republican
President Ronald Reagan wrote to him to call him the voice of American conservatism in 1992