Profile Text
MacArthur in 1945, Naval Historical Center; #USA C-2413, Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
Date of Birth: January 26, 1880
Place of Birth: Little Rock Barracks, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Date of Death: April 5, 1964
Place of Death: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Ethnicity: Scottish, English, distant Welsh
Douglas MacArthur was an American five-star general. He had a prominent role in the Pacific front during WWII. He was the effective ruler of Japan while he oversaw its occupation, from 1945 to 1951; under MacArthur, the country underwent major economic, political, and social changes. He was Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, from 1919 to 1922, Commander of the Philippine Department, from 1 October, 1928 to 2 October, 1930, Chief of Staff of the Army, from 21 November, 1930 to 1 October, 1935, U.S. Military Advisor to the Philippines, from 1935 to 1941, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, from 14 August, 1945 to 11 April, 1951, Commander of the Far East Command, from 1 January, 1947 to 11 April, 1951, Commander of the UN Command, from 7 July, 1950 to 11 April, 1951, and Governor of the Ryukyu Islands, from 15 December, 1950 to 11 April, 1951.
He was, to one degree or another, a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 1944 , 1948 , and 1952 . He was also nominated for President by several minor parties, including the Constitution Party in 1952.
Douglas was the son of Mary Pinckney/Pinkney “Pinkie” and Arthur MacArthur, a U.S. Army general. He was married to Jean Marie Faircloth MacArthur, until his death, with whom he had a son, concert pianist and writer Arthur MacArthur IV.
Douglas’s paternal grandfather was Arthur MacArthur Sr. (the son of Arthur MacArthur and Sarah MacArthur). Douglas’s grandfather Arthur was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Uxbridge, Massachusetts, U.S., in 1828; Douglas’s grandfather was Governor of Wisconsin, in 1856, and a Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, from 1870 to 1887. Douglas’s great-grandfather John was the son of John MacArthur. Sarah was born in Dumbarton, the daughter of John MacArthur.
Douglas’s paternal grandmother was Aurelia Belcher (the daughter of Benjamin Barney Belcher and Olive Keep). Aurelia was born in Massachusetts. Benjamin was the son of Benjamin Belcher and Sarah “Sally” Barney. Olive was the daughter of John Keep and Elizabeth Smith.
Douglas’s maternal grandfather was Thomas Asbury Hardy (the son of The Rev. Edward Hardy and Lydia Jarvis). Thomas was born in North Carolina. The Rev. Edward was the son of William Parrott Hardy and Sarah Sowell.
Douglas’s maternal grandmother was named Elizabeth Margaret Pierce (the daughter of David Pierce). Elizabeth was born in Virginia.
Sources: Genealogies of Douglas MacArthur – https://www.geni.com https://www.findagrave.com