Ralph Straus Regula was born on December 3, 1924 in Beach City, Stark County, Ohio. Educated in the local public schools, Regula entered the Navy during the Second World War and served from 1944 to 1946. In 1948, he received a B.A. under the G.I. Bill from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. After graduation, Regula became a school teacher and principle while taking night courses at the William McKinley School of Law in Canton, Ohio. He earned his law degree, was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1952, and opened a law practice in Navarre, Ohio. Ralph Regula's career in public service began in 1960 when he became a member of the Ohio State Board of Education. After four years on the state board, Regula, a member of the Republican Party, was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1965 to 1966. Beginning in 1967, he served for six years in the Ohio Senate. During his years in the Ohio General Assembly, Regula played a leading role in the creation of both the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and the Stark State College of Technology. In 1972, Regula ran for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives being vacated by Frank T. Bow, who was retiring from Congress after serving for twenty-two years as a Republican for the 16th District of Ohio. Regula won the general election in 1972 by a 57% margin, and went on to win seventeen consecutive re-election campaigns by an average of more than 65% of the vote. Regula retired from Congress in January 2009 after thirty-six years of service, which made him the longest continuously serving congressman in Ohio history. He presently resides on his family farm near Navarre, Ohio. He and his wife, Mary, have three children and four grandchildren.
From the description of Ralph S. Regula Papers 1972-2008 1981-2008 (Ohio State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 586041487
