| Thomas C. Coffin | |
| Image Name: | Thomas C. Coffin (Idaho Congressman).jpg |
| State: | Idaho |
| District: | 2nd |
| Term Start: | March 4, 1933 |
| Term End: | June 8, 1934 |
| Preceded: | Addison T. Smith |
| Succeeded: | D. Worth Clark |
| Birth Date: | October 25, 1887 |
| Birth Place: | Caldwell, Idaho Territory |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., US |
| Resting Place: | Mountain View Cemetery Pocatello, Idaho, US |
| Residence: | Pocatello, US |
| Spouse: | Aileen Franklin Coffin (m. 1920)[1] |
| Children: | Jeanne Coffin (1922-2014)[2] |
| Profession: | Attorney |
| Allegiance: | United States |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Branch: | U.S. Navy |
| Rank: | Petty officer, second class |
| Serviceyears: | 1918 |
| Unit: | Aviation |
| Battles: | 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]
| Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Thomas Coffin | align="right" | 58,138 | 55.0% | Addison Smith (inc.) | align="right" | 46,273 | 43.8% | William Goold | Liberty | align="right" | 1,201 | align="right" | 1.1% |
Source:[5]