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

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He served one term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from 1965 to 1967.

Early life and education

Todd was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, the son of Paul H. Todd, mayor of Kalamazoo in 1937, and the grandson of Albert M. Todd, former U.S. representative and the "Peppermint King" founder of the A.M. Todd Company. Todd graduated from

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (shortly as BHHS or Beverly) is a public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills is Moreno High School, a small alternative school located on Beverly Hills High School's c ...

in 1937. He received a B.S. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1943.

Career

Military career

Todd served in the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing Military communications, communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was ...

and the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed 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 ...

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 The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

August E. Johansen August Edgar Johansen (July 21, 1905 – April 16, 1995) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Johansen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the public schools in Battle Creek, Michigan. He attended Olivet ...

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry County, Michigan, Barry and Ionia County, Michigan, ...

. In 1964, Todd defeated Johansen to be elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

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 inc ...

and in 1966, lost in the general election to Republican

Garry E. Brown Garry Eldridge Brown (August 12, 1923 – August 27, 1998) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1979. Biography Brown was born in Schoolcraft, Mich ...

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 an American nonprofit organization

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 is a global non-profit organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and maternal and newborn health. The organization ...

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 Hamm, 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 People associated with Planned Parenthood 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives