Merwin Coad facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Merwin Coad
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 6th district |
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| In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1963 |
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| Preceded by | James I. Dolliver |
| Succeeded by | Neal Edward Smith (redistricting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Doyle Merwin Coad
September 28, 1924 Mitchell County, Kansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Delores Hale
(m. 1944; div. 1961)Carol Faye Farnsworth
(m. 1961, divorced)Georgette Hill
(m. 1991; div. 1998) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Texas Christian University |
| Profession | Minister; later, Lender and Speaker |
Doyle Merwin Coad, born on September 28, 1924, is an American politician and former minister from Iowa. He served in the United States House of Representatives for three terms, from 1957 to 1963. This means he was a lawmaker who helped make decisions for the country. He was a member of the Democratic Party. His election was a big deal because it ended 14 years of the Republican Party holding all the House seats from Iowa.
Today, Mr. Coad is the oldest living former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who started his term in the 1950s.
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Merwin Coad's Early Life and Education
Doyle Merwin Coad was born on a farm in Mitchell County, Kansas. His family later moved to a farm in Nemaha County, Nebraska, near Auburn, Nebraska. He finished high school in Auburn in 1941.
He went to Peru State Teachers College in Nebraska from 1941 to 1942. Then he studied at Phillips University in Oklahoma from 1942 to 1944. He graduated from Texas Christian University in Texas in 1945. He also studied at Drake University in Iowa.
In 1945, Coad became a minister for the Disciples of Christ Church in Boone, Iowa. He worked as an associate minister in St. Joseph, Missouri, from 1948 to 1949. He then served as a minister in Lenox, Iowa, from 1949 to 1951. From 1951 to 1956, he was a minister in Boone.
Becoming a Congressman: Elections and Re-elections
In 1956, Merwin Coad, a Democrat, decided to run for Congress. He ran against James I. Dolliver, a Republican who had been in Congress for six terms. It was a very close election!
Coad won by only 83 votes out of over 129,000 votes. There was a recount, which confirmed his win by 198 votes. Mr. Dolliver tried to get the U.S. House to change the election results, but he was not successful. Coad was re-elected two more times, serving a total of three terms.
Leaving Politics: Why Merwin Coad Stepped Down
After the 1960 census, Iowa lost one of its seats in Congress. This meant the state's congressional districts had to be redrawn in 1961. Parts of Coad's old district were moved into other districts. His home county, Boone, was placed in a district already represented by another popular Democrat, Neal Smith.
There were talks that Coad might run for the Senate or for governor of Iowa in 1962. However, on June 8, 1961, Coad announced he would leave politics at the end of his term in 1962. He was only 36 years old.
His decision came after some personal news became public. Coad's congressional service ended on January 3, 1963.
Life After Congress: New Ventures
In July 1963, Coad started working as a consultant for the Kennedy Administration. He worked for the Agency for International Development, which helps other countries. However, a senator from Iowa, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, raised concerns about Coad's qualifications. Coad resigned the next day.
Coad then became involved in real estate lending in the Washington D.C. area. Later, in the early 1980s, Coad started giving free seminars. These seminars were advertised in newspapers with headlines like, "You Can Buy Real Estate with $10 Down and Become Wealthy in your Spare Time." The ads said Coad was a top expert on buying real estate with little or no money down.
By the 1990s, Coad lived in Washington, D.C. and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He later moved to Florida, where he still lives today. On September 28, 2024, Merwin Coad turned 100 years old. He is one of the few former U.S. Representatives to reach this amazing age!
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Merwin Coad
