Some may ask, “Who is John Hinckley Jr.?” To most people, they know him as the man who attempted to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan. But why did John feel the need to kill the president and what made him do it? In doing research to answer these questions about why the crime was committed, some pretty disturbing information and facts were brought to the surface. To begin with, John grew up in a fairly normal household as a privileged child. He had a father, John Hinckley Sr., who was devoted to his family, a mother and two other siblings. Hinckley Sr., his father, started Vanderbilt Energy Corp. as an independent public oil and gas exploration company with operations from South Texas to Canada. In 1983, he sold Vanderbilt Energy Corp. and withdraws from the oil sector. Soon after, he founded the American Mental Health Fund to raise awareness of the prevalence and warning signs of mental illness and to erase its terrible stigma (Vaughan). Growing up, Hinckley Jr. always felt like he was going to grow up as the popular kid; he was involved in many sports, including being a quarterback and also playing basketball, and even became class president for a few years. But as John grew older, he began to withdraw from society and keep to himself. His family liked to think he was just shy instead of lacking in social interaction (Linder). As a tennager, John Hinckley Jr. was always fascinated by celebrities. So in 1976, after leaving Texas Tech, where he went to college and where he would never return without a degree after the seven years he was in and out of, Hinckley Jr. left his home in Colorado for Hollywood to realize his dream as a songwriter ("Biography: John Hinckle...... middle of paper ......history named John Hopper Although John Hinckley Jr. was already taking antidepressants, the psychiatrist believed that John did not suffer from mental illness, but rather suffered from "emotional immaturity." Hopper felt that the best solution to correct this immaturity was to cut John Hinckley Jr. from the family completely. . Trusting the psychiatrist, the Hinckley, Jr. family did just that." PBS. Np. Web. April 19, 2014..Linder, Douglas. "Famous American Trials." . Np. Web. 19 April 2014..Vaughan, Joyce. “John (JW) “Jack” Hinckley, Sr.” Find a Grave, January 31, 2008. Web..2014. .