J. Reagor Motlow (February 15, 1898 – March 12, 1978) was an American businessman, politician, landowner, and philanthropist. He was the owner of the Jack Daniel's distillery. He served as a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

and the Tennessee Senate. He donated the land upon which the campus of Motlow State Community College and the public library in Lynchburg were built.

Early life

Motlow was born in 1898 in

Moore County, Tennessee Moore County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,461, making it the third-least populous county in Tennessee. It forms a consolidated city-county government w ...

. His father,

Lem Motlow Lem Motlow (November 28, 1869 – September 1, 1947) was an American businessman, politician, landowner and Tennessee Walking Horse breeder. He was the owner of Jack Daniel's, and he served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Te ...

, was the owner of Jack Daniel's, the whiskey distillery. His great-uncle was Jack Daniel. He graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1919.

Career

Motlow began his career working for a mill in Union City, Tennessee, in the 1920s. He joined his family business, Jack Daniel's, as executive vice president from 1938 to 1947, and he served as its president from 1939 to 1963. When it was acquired by Brown–Forman in 1956, Motlow served on the company's board of directors. Motlow served as a member of the

and the Tennessee Senate, retiring in 1976. During his tenure, he approved the construction of many public buildings in Downtown Nashville, including the James K. Polk State Office Building, and he supported funding for education and libraries. Motlow was a landowner in Moore County. He donated the land on which the public library in Lynchburg and the campus of Motlow State Community College were built. He also served on the Board of Trust of his ''alma mater'', Vanderbilt University.

Personal life and death

Motlow married Jeanie Garth in 1928. Motlow died on March 12, 1978, in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motlow, J. Reagor 1898 births 1978 deaths People from Moore County, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Businesspeople from Tennessee American corporate directors Brown–Forman people Tennessee state senators 20th-century American landowners Philanthropists from Tennessee 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople