Senator Thomas J. Dodd devoted his life to public service, the rule of law, and the rights of the oppressed. He was born in Norwich, Conn., graduated from Providence College, and received a law degree from Yale University. In 1934 he married Grace Murphy of Westerly, Rhode Island. The couple became the parents of six children: Thomas J., Jr., Carolyn, Jeremy, Martha, Christopher, and Nicholas.

In 1935, after serving in the FBI, Dodd was appointed State Director of the National Youth Administration. In 1938 he became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General and during World War II Dodd prosecuted espionage and sabotage cases and industrial fraud by American companies supplying military hardware. When the Allied Powers convened an international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, to prosecute Nuremberg, Germany Nazi war criminals in 1945, Dodd was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Review Board and later Executive Trial Counsel. Dodd helped shape many of the strategies and policies at the trials. He concentrated on proving the charge of conspiracy to wage aggressive war, the horrors of the concentration camp system, and the activities of Nazi organizations like the Gestapo and SS.

After his return to the U.S., Dodd practiced law in Hartford and became active in Democratic Party politics. He was elected to Congress from the First District in 1952 and 1954. During his two terms in the Senate from 1959 to 1971, he championed gun control legislation, supported the civil rights initiatives of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and worked to protect children through efforts to curb violence on television and stem the traffic of illegal drugs. Dodd vigorously opposed Soviet Communism and was outspoken in his support for the captive nations of Eastern Europe. He won a second Senate term in 1964 and ran unsuccessfully for re-election as an independent in 1970. Thomas J. Dodd died at his Old Lyme home on May 24, 1971.

To learn more about Thomas J. Dodd, visit the Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut.