Cleveland D. Ryan

Cleveland Delbert Ryan was born on August 25, 1912 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.¹ As a young man, he worked in a movie theater in Gloucester.² 

Around 1932, during the Great Depression, Ryan moved to Washington, D.C., to find employment. As he explained later in life: “During the depression I caught a freight for Washington to get a job . . . I went to the union hall to look for work. I was a master electrician. They asked me if I wanted to work at the White House. At first I thought they were pulling my leg. They weren’t.” He started at the White House under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ryan assisted with the electrical work for some of President Roosevelt’s famous Fireside Chats. “I only handled a few of them though,” Ryan claimed.³ 

Ryan continued to work at the White House as an electrician for the next several decades. He described himself as a “lighting technician” whose main responsibility was operating the lighting during presidential press conferences and televised addresses. Beginning in the 1950s and continuing throughout his tenure at the White House, Ryan spent most Christmases with the president and first family; he often accompanied them to the various presidential retreats, including the Kennedys’ home in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Eisenhowers’ Gettysburg Farm, so that he could operate lighting for any press conferences and media appearances the president made during the holiday season.⁴ 

Ryan retired in August 1977 and moved back to Gloucester, having worked with every president from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter. “As far as I’m concerned, they were all wonderful men,” said Ryan from retirement.⁵ 

Despite his long tenure at the White House, Ryan appeared on no known White House staff lists compiled during the years of his service there. As such, Ryan may have worked part-time at the White House or on an as-needed/contract basis. Adding credence to this theory is the fact that some government documents, including his World War II draft card, identify him as a movie theater operator in Washington, D.C.⁶ 

Ryan passed away on August 28, 1983.⁷