Thomas Dodd

Thomas Dodd was an Irish American politician from Connecticut who served two terms in the House of Representatives from 1953-57 and two terms in the U.S. Senate from 1957-1971. He was the father of Chris Dodd, who replicated his feat of serving in both the House and Senate. Both Dodds were Democrats.

Tom Dodd had distinguished himself serving as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials. His Senate career was marred by his alcoholism and unethical behavior. In 1967, he became one of only six senators in the 20th Century to be censured by the Senate, for unethically converting campaign funds to private use. He failed to win the Democratic primary in 1970 but ran as an independent, siphoning off enough votes so that the Republican, Lowell Weicker, won his seat. He lived long enough to see his son be elected to Congress in 1974, but he died before Chris Dodd won a Senate seat in 1980.