Melvin R. Laird Sr.

Melvin R. Laird
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 6, 1941 – March 19, 1946 (died)
Preceded byWalter J. Rush
Succeeded byMelvin R. Laird Jr.
Personal details
Born(1878-08-07)August 7, 1878
Maysville, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 19, 1946(1946-03-19) (aged 67)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Resting placeHillside Cemetery, Marshfield, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
SpouseHelen Connor
Children
  • William Connor Laird
  • (b. 1913; died 1943)
  • Richard Malcolm Laird
  • (b. 1915; died 1967)
  • Melvin Robert Laird Jr.
  • (b. 1922; died 2016)
  • David Laird
  • (b. 1927; died 2015)
Education
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1917–1919
Rank1st Lieutenant (chaplain)
Unit84th Div. U.S. Infantry
Battles/warsWorld War I

Melvin Robert Laird Sr. (August 7, 1878 – March 19, 1946) was an American businessman, Presbyterian minister, and Republican politician from Wood County, Wisconsin.[1] He served five years as a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 24th Senate district from 1941 until his death in 1946. He was succeeded by his son, Melvin R. Laird Jr., who went on to become United States Secretary of Defense and Domestic Policy Advisor to President Richard Nixon.

  1. ^ General Catalogue of the McCormick Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois: 1912, p. 174