Early Life
Pataki's paternal grandfather was János (later John) Pataki (1883–1971) of Aranyos-Apáti, Austria-Hungary, who came to the United States in 1908 and worked in a hat factory. János had married Erzsébet (later Elizabeth; 1887 – 1975) around 1904. Their son, Pataki's father, was Louis P. Pataki (1912–1996), a mailman. Pataki's maternal grandfather was Matteo Laganà (born in Calabria, Italy in 1889), who married Agnes Lynch of County Louth, Ireland around 1914. Their daughter, Margaret Lagana, is Pataki's mother. He has an older brother, Louis. George Pataki can still speak a little Hungarian today.
Pataki married Elizabeth Rowland in 1973, and they have four children: Emily, Teddy, Allison, and Owen.
After attending Peekskill High School, he entered Yale University in 1964 on an academic scholarship, and graduated in 1967. While there he served as chairman of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1970.
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