Ryan, John Augustine (1869-1945)

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National Conference of Charities and Correction

National Consumers League

Charity and Social Justice, May 19, 1910

Arthur Piper Kellogg to Charles R. Nutter, June 24, 1910

List of Authors of Papers to be Included in Forthcoming Book, June 24, 1910

Jane Addams to John Bertram Andrews, June 28, 1910

Jane Addams to Rosika Schwimmer, November 27, 1915

John B. Andrews to Jane Addams, November 22, 1910

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Birth Date

1869-05-25

Death Date

1945-09-16

Birthplace

Vermillion, MN

Biographical Text

The Right Reverend Dr. John Augustine Ryan was a Catholic priest who used his position to teach and advocate for social reform. He studied at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, St. Paul Seminary and the Catholic University of America. He was ordained in 1898. Ryan returned to St. Paul Seminary in 1902 and served as a professor of both moral theology and economics there until 1915. That year, he returned to the Catholic University of America and, until 1937. He also taught additional classes in social subjects at Trinity College and was a sociology professor for the National Catholic School of Social Service in the 1920s. Ryan was a leading supporter of the minimum wage and became involved with a number of trade unions, as well as the National Consumers' League. As a result, Ryan created the Catholic Conference on Industrial Problems in 1923 and the Catholic Association for International Peace in 1927. He also backed child labor legislation. Ryan served as the vice president of the National Conference of Charities and Correction and was the director of the of the National Catholic Welfare Council's Social Action Department from 1920 until his death. In 1933, he was elected to a seat on the Industrial Appeals Board of the National Recovery Administration. He was a supporter of the New Deal and worked on Franklin Roosevelt's 1936 reelection campaign, delivering the benediction at Franklin's inauguration. Ryan wrote various articles and book throughout his life, including, A Living Wage and Distributive Justice.

Ryan died in 1945.