John Edward Reagan (July 13, 1883 – May 18, 1941) was an American salesman. He was the father of future U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Jack Reagan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | John Edward Reagan July 13, 1883 Fulton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1941 (aged 57) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents |
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Ancestry
editJack's paternal grandfather, Michael O'Regan, was a native of County Tipperary, Ireland. O'Regan worked as a tenant farmer during his early years in Ireland, before he moved to London in 1852. While living there, O'Regan married an Irish refugee named Catherine Mulcahey, and anglicized his family surname to "Reagan" before emigrating to Carroll County, Illinois in 1856.[1] John Michael, their son, became a grain elevator farmer, and married Jenny Cusick in 1878. Cusick was born in Canada, but like John Michael, her parents came from Ireland. Their son, John Edward "Jack," was born five years later, in 1883.[2]
| 8. Thomas O'Regan | |||||||||||||||
| 4. Michael O'Regan (Reagan) | |||||||||||||||
| 9. Margaret Murphy | |||||||||||||||
| 2. John Michael Reagan | |||||||||||||||
| 10. Patrick Mulcahey | |||||||||||||||
| 5. Catherine Mulcahey | |||||||||||||||
| 1. John Edward "Jack" Reagan[3] | |||||||||||||||
| 12. Patrick Thomas Cusick | |||||||||||||||
| 6. Patrick Cusick | |||||||||||||||
| 13. Jean Gabbert | |||||||||||||||
| 3. Jennie Cusick | |||||||||||||||
| 7. Sarah Higgins | |||||||||||||||
Life and career
editAt the time of his second son Ronald's birth in 1911, the 27-year-old Jack was working at a store in Tampico, Illinois.[citation needed] He went on to work as a traveling salesman during Ronald's childhood. Politically, he was a populist Democrat, supporting economically progressive policies such as financial support for the working poor, trust-busting, child labor laws, a minimum wage, and progressive taxation. From his Irish heritage he inherited a dislike of the British Empire. He was a keen supporter of the United States' involvement in World War I and attempted to enlist. He was strongly opposed to the Ku Klux Klan due to his Catholic heritage, but also due to the Klan's antisemitism and racism.[4] Reagan was a member of the Catholic men's organization the Knights of Columbus, according to an address given to the group by his son, President Ronald Reagan in 1986.[5]
Reagan died on May 19, 1941, at the age of 57 after a series of heart attacks. It has been suggested[6] that he might have survived if a nearby ambulance had been allowed to cross out of their service territory. This possibility may have been one reason that Ronald Reagan, as governor of California, signed into law the Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act of 1970, authorizing the first paramedic program in the United States.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Gullan (2001), p. 320
- ^ The New Yorker, Volume 57, Issues 37-41, 1981, p. 45
- ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams and Michael J. Wood. "The Ancestors of Ronald Reagan". Retrieved April 16, 2008.
- ^ Vaughn, Stephen (1992). "Ronald Reagan and the Struggle for Black Dignity in Cinema". The Journal of Negro History. 77 (1): 1–16. doi:10.2307/3031523. JSTOR 3031523.
- ^ "President Reagan's remarks via Satellite to Knights of Columbus on August 5, 1986" (video). youtube.com. Reagan Library.
- ^ a b EMERGENCY! 50! The Show that Saved Your Life (FULL LENGTH). Event occurs at 8m30s. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
General
- Angelo, Bonnie (2001). First Mothers: The Women who Shaped the Presidents. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-093711-4.
- Gullan, Harold I. (2001). Faith of our mothers: The stories of presidential mothers from Mary Washington to Barbara Bush. New York: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4926-1.
- Kengor, Paul (2004). God and Ronald Reagan. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-057142-X.
- Pemberton, William E. (1998). Exit with honor: The life and presidency of Ronald Reagan. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-0096-X.
- Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-0025-9.