1. Rush Limbaugh III was born on Jan. 12, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. His grandfather was a prominent attorney who practiced law past the age of 100 and has a U.S. courthouse in Cape Girardeau named after him. His father was also an attorney, as well as a Republican activist.

2. When Limbaugh was 16, his father lent him money for a summer course in radio engineering. Two of his early radio aliases were "Rusty Sharpe" and "Jeff Christie."

3. Limbaugh attended Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out after a year of poor performance.

4. In the '80s, he worked in the office of the Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team, where he made $12,000 a year; he almost quit to take a more lucrative job as a potato-chip distributor.

5. He was so influential in the "Republican Revolution" of 1994 that he was dubbed by the new GOP members of Congress the "Majority Maker" and deemed an honorary member of the group.

6. Despite naming Ronald Reagan as his greatest influence, Limbaugh never actually voted for him because he didn't register to vote until he was 35.

7. After he went deaf in 2001 because of an autoimmune inner ear disease, Limbaugh hired a stenographer who sends him real-time transcripts of on-air conversations. He also has a cochlear implant that enables him to hear callers.

8. In 2006, Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in someone else's name in his bag.

9. Limbaugh has been married and divorced three times. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas officiated at his third wedding.

10. Limbaugh shares a secluded 24,000-square-foot beachfront mansion in Palm Beach with his cat, Pumpkin. A life-size oil portrait of Limbaugh hangs on the wall of the main staircase. The property contains four other homes, all owned by him.

Sources:

New York Times

The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan From God

Southeast Missourian

Time

Associated Press

St. Paul Pioneer Press