Paul Harold Todd Jr. (September 22, 1921November 18, 2008) was an American politician, soldier, and business executive from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1967.

Early life and education

Todd was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

, the son of Paul H. Todd, mayor of Kalamazoo in 1937, and the grandson of

Albert M. Todd Albert May Todd (June 3, 1850 – October 6, 1931), known as "The Peppermint King of Kalamazoo," was an American chemist, businessman, and politician from the state of Michigan. A philanthropist and advocate of public ownership of utilities, ...

, former U.S. representative and the "Peppermint King" founder of the A.M. Todd Company. Todd graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1937. He received a B.S. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1943.

Career

Military career

Todd served in the United States Army Signal Corps and the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

from 1942 to 1945. He received a bronze star for his service during World War II. He was founder of Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Co. (now known as Kalsec) in 1958.

Congress

In 1962, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican U.S. Representative August E. Johansen in Michigan's 3rd congressional district. In 1964, Todd defeated Johansen to be elected as a Democrat to the 89th Congress, serving from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1967. He was known as one of the

Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen The Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen is the name given to five members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were elected in the Democratic landslide of 1964 and were subsequently defeated just two years later by a Republican resurgence. They incl ...

and in 1966, lost in the general election to Republican Garry E. Brown.

Later career

Todd later served as chief executive officer of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

from 1967 to 1970. He was appointed to the Governor's Commission on Ethics and served from 1972 to 1976. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the 94th Congress in 1974. He is a former chair of the Board of Directors of

Pathfinder International Pathfinder International, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, US, is a global non-profit organization 501(c)(3) that focuses on reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and maternal health. The organization operates in ...

Personal life

Before his death on November 18, 2008, Todd resided in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Todd was married to Terry for 51 years and together they had four children. Terry preceded him in death in 1997. Todd married Caroline Ham, a former Kalamazoo mayor, in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Paul Harold Jr. 1921 births 2008 deaths Cornell University alumni United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Politicians from Kalamazoo, Michigan People from Beverly Hills, California Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 20th-century American politicians People associated with Planned Parenthood