Howard Aldridge Coffin was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Coffin was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts

Middleborough, Massachusetts

Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....

 and attended the Vermont Academy

Vermont Academy

Vermont Academy is an American coeducational boarding/day school and college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve and also offers acceptance for students seeking a post-graduate year. Founded in 1876, it is located in Saxtons River, Vermont. The school is coeducational, and...

 at Saxtons River

Saxtons River, Vermont

Saxtons River is an incorporated village in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 519 at the 2000 census. For over a hundred years, Saxtons River has been the home of Vermont Academy, an independent secondary school.The Saxtons River Village Historic...

. He graduated from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

, Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, in 1901 and was a teacher in the Providence Friends School in 1901.

He worked as a representative for the book publishers, Ginn & Co., 1901-1911; controller, Warren Motor Car Company, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, 1911-1913; manager, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...

, of Michigan, 1913-1918; secretary, Detroit Pressed Steel Company, 1918-1921; assistant to president, Cadillac Motor Company, of Detroit, 1921-1925; vice president and later president, White Star Refining Company, 1925-1933; general manager, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, 1933-1946.

In 1946, Coffin was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Michigan's 13th congressional district

Michigan's 13th congressional district

Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It includes the east side of Detroit, portions of the city's near west side, the inner suburbs of River Rouge, Harper Woods, Ecorse, the downriver communities of Lincoln Park, and Wyandotte,...

, defeating former representative Clarence J. McLeod

Clarence J. McLeod

Clarence John McLeod was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives....

 in the Republican primary and going on to defeat incumbent Democrat George D. O'Brien

George D. O'Brien

George Donoghue O’Brien was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives....

. Coffin served in the 80th Congress

80th United States Congress

The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...

, from January 3, 1947 th January 3, 1949. Coffin lost to O'Brien in the general election of 1948.

Coffin organized the Industrial Service Bureau in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and was a business consultant until his retirement in 1954. He died in Washington, D.C., and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.