Robert Lawrence Coughlin Jr. (April 11, 1929 – November 30, 2001) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

representing the 13th district of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from 1969 to 1993. He also served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

district from 1965 to 1966 and the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

for the 17th district from 1967 to 1969.

Early life and education

R. Lawrence Coughlin was born in

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

, to Robert Lawrence and Evelyn (née Wich) Coughlin. His uncle was

Clarence D. Coughlin Clarence Dennis Coughlin (July 27, 1883 – December 15, 1946) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician who served one term as a Republican U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1921 to 1923. Biography Clarence Coughlin (uncle ...

, who represented Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district from 1921 to 1923. He was raised on his father's farm near

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, and graduated from the

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Lakeville, Connecticut. It educates approximately 600 students in grades 9–12, plus postgraduates. Founded in 1891, it was one of the first English-style boardi ...

in Lakeville,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, in 1946. Coughlin then enrolled at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he majored in economics and was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

. He was also a classmate of

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, the future

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. After graduating from Yale in 1950, he received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1954. His studies at Harvard were interrupted during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, when he served as a captain in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and an aide to Lieutenant General

Chesty Puller Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps officer. Beginning his career fighting Guerrilla warfare, guerillas in Haiti and Nicaragua as part of the Banana Wars, he later served with distin ...

(1950–1952). Following his military service, Coughlin entered the

Temple University School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Temple University, a public university, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, attending classes at night while working as a foreman on an assembly line at a steel company during the day. He received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from Temple in 1958.

Early career

In 1959, Coughlin was admitted to the bar and joined the law firm of Saul Ewing in Philadelphia. He was elected as a Republican to the

in 1964, representing one of

's at-large seats. After serving one term in the House, he was elected to the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

, where he represented the 17th District from 1967 to 1969. As a state legislator, he served on the Joint State Government Commission Task Force on Penal Laws.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1968, after incumbent

Richard Schweiker Richard Schultz Schweiker (June 1, 1926 – July 31, 2015) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of health and human services under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. A member of the R ...

decided to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, Coughlin successfully ran for the

from Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district. The district, based in Montgomery County and dominated by the Republican Party, included the affluent suburban communities of the Main Line and, in the 1980s, was reapportioned to include parts of Philadelphia. After winning the Republican nomination, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Robert D. Gates, by a margin of 62% to 37%. During his tenure in Congress, Coughlin earned a reputation as a moderate to liberal Republican. A member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, he supported increased funding for the

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people throughou ...

and other mass transportation agencies, housing programs, and anti-drug education. He was also a member of the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, in which capacity he supported additional funding for the destruction of cocaine processing labs and reducing efforts to interdict narcotics traffic. He also became known for always wearing a

bow tie The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of neckwear, distinguishable from a necktie because it does not drape down the shirt placket, but is tied just underneath a winged collar. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also ...

. Coughlin was re-elected eleven times, but declined to run again in 1992. His two most competitive campaigns for re-election came in 1984 and 1986, facing Democratic state Representative

Joe Hoeffel Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III ( ; born September 3, 1950) is an American author and politician. A Democrat, Hoeffel was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing Pennsylvania's 13th congressional distr ...

both times.

Later life and death

After retiring from Congress, Coughlin remained in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and joined the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott. He joined the law firm of Thompson Coburn in 2001, and also served as president of the Friends of the

United States National Arboretum The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in northeast Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It was established in 1927 by an act of Congress after a campaign by USDA ...

. Coughlin died from cancer at his home in

Mathews, Virginia Mathews is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Mathews County, Virginia, United States.

, at age 71. He is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Personal life

He was married three times. First to Helen Combs Swan in 1950; they had one daughter, Elizabeth (Lisa) Swan Coughlin. After Helen died in 1953, he married Elizbeth Poole Sellers Worrell; they had three children, Lynne Wick Coughlin, Sara Sellars Coughlin, and Robert Lawrence (Larry) Coughlin III. He married Susan MacGregor in 1981.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Coughlin, R. Lawrence 1929 births 2001 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Harvard Business School alumni Hotchkiss School alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Military personnel from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Mathews, Virginia Politicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Marines Yale College alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives