Richard John Egan(February 28, 1936 – August 28, 2009)[1]was an American business executive, political fundraiser, andUnited States Ambassador to Ireland(2001–2003).
Richard J. Egan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Ireland | |
| In office September 10, 2001 – January 31, 2003 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Mike Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | James C. Kenny |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1936 Milton, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 28, 2009(aged 73) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Maureen Fitzgerald |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Northeastern University |
| Known for | Co-founder ofEMC Corporation |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Career
editEgan was born inMilton, Massachusetts,and attended high school in theDorchesterneighborhood ofBoston.He was a helicopter crewman in theUnited States Marine Corpsduring the end of theKorean War,then received a bachelor's inelectrical engineeringfromNortheastern Universityin 1961 and a master's atM.I.T.[2]He later was on the team that helped developProject Apollomemory systems forNASA,and worked atLockheed Martin,Honeywell,andIntelbefore foundingEMC Corporation.[3]
In 1979, he founded EMC withRoger Marino,who had been a classmate at Northeastern. The two initially sold office furniture in order to raise money to build the company with only a handful of employees. EMC eventually became Massachusetts' largest technology company and had more than 40,000 employees by 2009. In the 2005 list of theForbes400,Egan was ranked as the 258th richest American, with a net worth of approximately $1.3 billion.[4]
Philanthropy
editEgan was a leader in numerous educational, business and technology groups, serving as director of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and Business Roundtable, director of theNew York Stock ExchangeAdvisory Board, and founder of the Hopkinton Technology for Education Foundation inHopkinton, Massachusetts,where EMC was based. He donated part of his fortune to theBoy Scouts of Americaas well as health and education groups. He played critical role in the creation of the Maureen and Richard J. Egan Engineering/Science Research Center, dedicated in October 1996 at Northeastern University, hisalma mater.[5]
He started an engineering center inIsraelto help develop EMC's products and he was credited with greatly improvingIsrael's technology infrastructure.
Ireland
editFollowing significant fundraising forGeorge W. Bush's2000 presidential campaign,Egan was one of 19Bush Pioneersto become an ambassador; his sons Christopher and Michael were also Pioneers.
Egan retired from EMC on January 17, 2001, becoming Chairman Emeritus, in order to accept an appointment by President Bush to serve as the US Ambassador toIreland.[6]After confirmation by theSenate,he presented his credentials toPresident of IrelandMary McAleeseon September 10, 2001.[7]He had the official title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and served in the role until January 31, 2003.[8][9]
Recognition
editIn 1994,Inc.magazine named Egan "Master Entrepreneur of the Year." He also received the Medal of Honor Society's Patriot Award, theJewish National Fund Tree of Life Award,and was one ofIrish Americamagazine's "Top 100". Egan received honorary degrees fromNortheastern University,New England Institute of Technology,and theUniversity of Ulster.[citation needed]
Death
editEgan committed suicide at his Boston residence on August 28, 2009, aged 73, while suffering fromStage IVterminallung cancer.[2]According to his family, he also suffered fromemphysemaanddiabetes.[10]He was survived by his wife, Maureen, and their five children.
References
edit- ^"Richard J. Egan".NNDB.
- ^abMellor, Chris (August 30, 2009)."EMC co-founder kills himself".The Register.RetrievedMarch 2,2011.
- ^"Richard Egan (1936–2009) Self-made billionaire, ambassador to Ireland".Chicago Tribune.AP.August 31, 2009.RetrievedApril 17,2017– via newspapers.
- ^"#258 Richard J Egan".Forbes.2005.
- ^Heinz, Hailey (November 2, 2004)."Longtime friends share campus namesakes".The Huntington News.RetrievedApril 29,2017.
- ^"President Bush to Nominate Egan to be Ambassador to Ireland"(Press release).whitehouse.gov.March 14, 2001 – via archives.gov.
- ^Reilly, Jerome (September 9, 2001)."US envoy to meet McAleese".Irish Independent.RetrievedApril 29,2017.
- ^"Richard J. Egan (1936–2009)".history.state.gov.RetrievedApril 29,2017.
- ^"Former U.S. Ambassadors to Ireland".ie.usembassy.gov.Archived fromthe originalon May 17, 2017.RetrievedApril 29,2017.
- ^Marquard, Bryan (August 29, 2009)."EMC cofounder Richard Egan dies".The Boston Globe.
Further reading
edit- "Oral History of Richard Egan"(PDF).Computer History Museum(Interview). Interviewed by Gardner Hendrie.Boston.September 17, 2008.RetrievedApril 29,2017.
- "EMC Leaders Mourn Passing of Co-Founder Dick Egan, the 'E' in EMC"(Press release).EMC Corporation.August 29, 2009.
- Rodengen, Jeffrey L. (December 30, 2010).Innovation, Passion, Success: The EMC Story.Write Stuff Enterprises, LLC.ISBN978-1932022162.
External links
edit
- "Egan Research Center".northeastern.edu.RetrievedApril 29,2017.