Father of Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United StatesFor those of a similar name, see John Reagan (disambiguation) and Jack Regan (disambiguation).

John Edward Reagan (July 13, 1883 – May 18, 1941) was the father of Ronald Reagan, motion picture actor, who served as the 33rd governor of California and 40th president of the United States and radio station manager Neil Reagan.

Contents

• 1 Ancestry
• 2 Life and career
• 3 See also
• 4 References

Ancestry

Jack'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. Whilst living there, O'Regan married an Irish refugee named Catherine Mulcahey, and anglicised his family surname to "Reagan". The couple emigrated to Carroll County, Illinois in 1856. 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.

Life and career

At the time of his second son Ronald's birth in 1911, Jack was working at a store in Tampico, Illinois. 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 anti-semitism and anti-black racism.

He died on May 19, 1941, at the age of 57 after a series of heart attacks.

See also

• Birthplace of Ronald Reagan
• Pitney Variety Store

References

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.