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Mary Margaret O'Reilly (October 14, 1865 – December 6, 1949) was an American civil servant who worked as the Assistant Director of the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1924 until 1938. One of the United States' highest-ranking female civil servants of her time, she worked at the Mint for 34 years, during which she often served as acting director during the Mint Director's absence. O'Reilly was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to an Irish migrant family. Growing up in that state, she left school around the age of 14 to help support both her widowed mother and her siblings. Likely starting work in the local textile mills, she gained clerical training at night school before working as a clerk in Worcester for eighteen years. In 1904, O'Reilly gained a position at the Mint Bureau, resulting in a move to Washington, D.C. She rose rapidly in the bureau's hierarchy – an unusual feat for a woman at that time – and was frequently called upon to testify before the United States Congress. As many of the Mint's directors were political appointees who had little knowledge or interest in the bureau's operations, the task of running the institution often fell to her. In 1924 she was officially appointed Assistant Director. In 1933, the Mint gained its first female Director, Nellie Tayloe Ross, and despite an initial mistrust between her and O'Reilly, they came to forge a strong bond. Although scheduled for mandatory retirement in 1935, O'Reilly was considered to be so indispensable to the bureau's operations that U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt postponed this until 1938. During her later years, O'Reilly remained in Washington D.C.; she no longer involved herself in Mint affairs, instead devoting much of her attention to Catholic charitable work. == Early life and career == Mary Margaret O'Reilly was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 14, 1865. Her parents, James A. and Joanna O'Reilly, were immigrants from Ireland, and Mary was one of five children. The family lived in Springfield and nearby Chicopee, Massachusetts, where James O'Reilly was a liquor wholesaler. He died after an illness in 1873. As well as depriving the family of income, his death caused his family legal trouble: Austin O'Reilly, a clerk in the now-closed O'Reilly business, tried to settle the estate by selling the remaining alcohol, but lacked a license to do so. Joanna O'Reilly denied any knowledge of business affairs. Austin's conviction for transporting liquor without a license was upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Mary left school after ninth grade, at or soon after age 14, as her help was needed to support the family. She likely worked for one of the local textile mills, and attended night school to train as a clerk and stenographer. From 1885 to 1903, she worked as a clerk, living in Worcester along with a brother, in a boarding house owned by their mother. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mary Margaret O'Reilly」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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