Thomas C. Coffin

Thomas C. Coffin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1933 – June 8, 1934
Preceded by	Addison T. Smith
Succeeded by	D. Worth Clark
Personal details
Born	(1887-10-25)October 25, 1887 Caldwell, Idaho Territory
Died	June 8, 1934(1934-06-08) (aged 46) Washington, D.C., US
Resting place	Mountain View Cemetery Pocatello, Idaho, US
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Aileen Franklin Coffin (m. 1920)[1]
Children	Jeanne Coffin (1922-2014)[2]
Residence(s)	Pocatello, US
Profession	Attorney
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	U.S. Navy
Years of service	1918
Rank	Petty officer, second class
Unit	Aviation
Battles/wars	World War I

Thomas Chalkley Coffin (October 25, 1887 – June 8, 1934) was an American lawyer and veteran of World War I who served part of one term as a congressman from Idaho. As a Democrat, he served in the U.S. House from 1933 until his death in 1934.

Born in Caldwell, Idaho Territory, Coffin moved with his family to nearby Boise in 1898. He attended Boise High School and then transferred back east to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Coffin then entered Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, and was graduated from the law department of Yale University in 1910.^[1]

He was admitted to the bar in 1911 and was a deputy county attorney for Ada County in Boise and in 1913 became an assistant attorney general of Idaho. Coffin relocated east across the state to Pocatello in December 1915 and went into private practice.

He served in the U.S. Navy in World War I as a Petty officer, second class in the aviation division.

Coffin was elected mayor of Pocatello in 1931 and ran for Congress in the 2nd district in 1932. In the Democratic landslide, he defeated the ten-term Republican incumbent, Addison T. Smith.^[1]

Only fifteen months into his first term, Coffin was struck by a motorist on a driveway in the south grounds of the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 1934, and suffered a fractured skull.^[3] He died four days later at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C.,^[1] and was buried on June 14 in Pocatello.^[4]

Source:^[5]

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

• United States Congress. "COFFIN, Thomas Chalkley (id: C000592)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard – Thomas C. Coffin
• Thomas C. Coffin at Find a Grave