Lawrence Coughlin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's13th district | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Schweiker |
| Succeeded by | Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky |
| Member of thePennsylvania Senate from the17th district | |
| In office January 2, 1967 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Robert P. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Richard A. Tilghman |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from theMontgomery County district | |
| In office January 1965 – November 30, 1966 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Lawrence Coughlin (1929-04-11)April 11, 1929 |
| Died | November 30, 2001(2001-11-30) (aged 72) Mathews, Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
Robert Lawrence Coughlin Jr. (April 11, 1929 – November 30, 2001) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as aRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives representing the13th district ofPennsylvania from 1969 to 1993. He also served as a member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives for theMontgomery County district from 1965 to 1966 and thePennsylvania Senate for the17th district from 1967 to 1969.
R. Lawrence Coughlin was born inWilkes-Barre,Pennsylvania, to Robert Lawrence and Evelyn (née Wich) Coughlin.[1] His uncle wasClarence D. Coughlin, who represented Pennsylvania's11th congressional district from 1921 to 1923.[2] He was raised on his father's farm nearScranton, and graduated from theHotchkiss School inLakeville,Connecticut, in 1946.[3]
Coughlin then enrolled atYale University, where he majored in economics and was a member ofSt. Anthony Hall.[4] He was also a classmate ofGeorge H. W. Bush, the futurePresident of the United States.[3] After graduating from Yale in 1950, he received aMaster of Business Administration degree from theHarvard Business School in 1954.[2] His studies at Harvard were interrupted during theKorean War, when he served as a captain in theUnited States Marine Corps and an aide to Lieutenant GeneralChesty Puller (1950–1952).[1]
Following his military service, Coughlin entered theTemple University School of Law inPhiladelphia, attending classes at night while working as a foreman on an assembly line at a steel company during the day.[4] He received aBachelor of Laws degree from Temple in 1958.[1]
In 1959, Coughlin was admitted to the bar and joined the law firm ofSaul Ewing in Philadelphia.[3] He was elected as aRepublican to thePennsylvania House of Representatives in 1964, representing one ofMontgomery County's at-large seats.[2] After serving one term in the House, he was elected to thePennsylvania State Senate, where he represented the17th District from 1967 to 1969.[2] As a state legislator, he served on the Joint State Government Commission Task Force on Penal Laws.[1]
In 1968, after incumbentRichard Schweiker decided to run for theUnited States Senate, Coughlin successfully ran for theUnited States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's13th congressional district.[5] The district, based in Montgomery County and dominated by the Republican Party, included the affluent suburban communities of theMain Line and, in the 1980s, was reapportioned to include parts of Philadelphia. After winning the Republican nomination, he defeated hisDemocratic opponent, Robert D. Gates, by a margin of 62% to 37%.[5]
During his tenure in Congress, Coughlin earned a reputation as a moderate to liberal Republican.[4] A member of theHouse Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, he supported increased funding for theSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other mass transportation agencies, housing programs, and anti-drug education.[4] 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.[3] He also became known for always wearing abow tie.[3]
Coughlin was re-elected eleven times, but declined to run again in 1992.[2] His two most competitive campaigns for re-election came in 1984 and 1986, facing Democratic state RepresentativeJoe Hoeffel both times.[3]
After retiring from Congress, Coughlin remained inWashington, D.C., and joined the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott.[3] He joined the law firm of Thompson Coburn in 2001, and also served as president of the Friends of theUnited States National Arboretum.[3]
Coughlin died from cancer at his home inMathews, Virginia, at age 71.[4] He is buried atArlington National Cemetery.[2]
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.
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives fromMontgomery County 1965–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Pennsylvania State Senate | ||
| Preceded by Robert P. Johnson | Member of thePennsylvania State Senate from the17th district 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 13th congressional district 1969–1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
