John Joyce “Jack” Gilligan (March 22, 1921 – August 26, 2013) was an American Democratic politician from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

who served as a U.S. Representative and as the 62nd

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1971 to 1975. He was the father of

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebel ...

, who later served as

governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

Early life

Gilligan was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, Ohio, the son of Harry Gilligan, a funeral home operator, and his wife, Blanche. His twin sister was Jeanne Joyce Gilligan. His family was

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1939, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

in 1943 and the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1947, serving in between in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, Pacific and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

as a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

gunnery officer.

Career

After the war, Gilligan returned to Cincinnati to teach literature at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

from 1948 to 1953. He also served as member of the Cincinnati city council from 1953 to 1963, and was a candidate for Ohio Congressman-at-Large in 1962. In 1964, he was elected to the Eighty-ninth Congress as a representative for Ohio's 1st district, serving from January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967. Gilligan narrowly lost his re-election bid to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966 to Republican Robert Taft Jr. after the Republican-controlled

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

redrew his district to favor the Republican Party. In 1968, Gilligan defeated sitting

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Frank J. Lausche Frank John Lausche (; November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohio ...

in the Democratic primary; however, he narrowly lost in the general election to Republican

William B. Saxbe William Bart Saxbe ( ; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a U.S. Senator for Ohio, and was the Attorney General for Presidents Richard M. Nixon and ...

after Lausche declined to support him in the general election. Gilligan won election for governor of Ohio in 1970, defeating Republican state Auditor

Roger Cloud Roger Ellwood Cloud (December 4, 1909 – April 20, 1988), was an American politician of the Republican party who represented Ohio in several capacities. Having worked as a farmer and a factory worker, Cloud won election to the local school bo ...

, and serving from 1971 to 1975. His signature achievement in office was the creation of Ohio's state income tax. Gilligan lost reelection in the strongly Democratic Watergate year of 1974 to former Republican governor

James A. Rhodes James Allen Rhodes (September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001) was an American Republican politician who served as Governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. , Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-year ...

(who had been barred from running in 1970 due to term limits) by only 11,488 votes out of 3,072,010 cast. The backlash of big business against Gilligan and in favor of Rhodes was seen by many as the reason for his defeat. Gilligan subsequently served as the

administrator of the United States Agency for International Development The administrator of the United States Agency for International Development is the head of the United States federal government's Agency for International Development (USAID). The administrator is officially nominated by the President of the Un ...

(USAID) from 1977 to 1979. In 1980, he was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President ...

National Governing Board. He served as director of the Institute for Public Policy from 1979 to 1986, and taught at the

from 1986 to 1992. He also served as director of the civic issues forum at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

School of Law. In 1999, Gilligan was elected to the Board of Education of the

Cincinnati Public Schools Cincinnati Public Schools (often abbreviated CPS) is the U.S. state of Ohio's third-largest public school district, by enrollment, after Columbus City Schools and Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Cincinnati Public Schools is the largest ...

. He chose not to stand for re-election when his term expired in 2007.

Family

Gilligan was the father of four children, including

, who served as

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

. They became the first father/daughter governor duo in the United States after her election.

Death

Gilligan died at home in Cincinnati on August 26, 2013 at the age of 92. His son said he died of congestive heart failure.

UFO sighting

On October 17, 1973, Gilligan, while governor, claimed to have seen a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

while driving near

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

. During a press conference he stated: "I saw one (UFO) the other night, so help me. I'm absolutely serious. I saw this."UFO reported by Ohio Governor John Gilligan
dailymotion.com; accessed June 19, 2017.

Legacy

The Gilligan Complex at the Ohio Expo Center and

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Gilligan.

References

External links

John Joyce Gilligan entry
at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

* - John Gilligan talks with his daughter,

, about his service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, John J. 1921 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American politicians Administrators of the United States Agency for International Development United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Irish descent Catholics from Ohio Charter Party politicians Cincinnati City Council members Democratic Party governors of Ohio Military personnel from Cincinnati Politicians from Cincinnati School board members in Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni University of Cincinnati College of Law faculty University of Notre Dame alumni United States Navy officers