Early Life, Education, and Business Career
Akin was born in New York City, New York, and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri area. He is the son of Nancy Perry (née Bigelow) and Paul Bigelow Akin. Akin's father is a third-generation graduate of Harvard University who served as an officer in the Navy during World War II, and who later succeeded his own father, William Akin, as president of the Laclede Steel Corporation of St. Louis. Todd's great-grandfather, Thomas Russell Akin, founded Laclede in 1911.
Akin graduated from the John Burroughs School, a private prep school in suburban St. Louis, and went on to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, earning a B.S. degree in engineering from WPI's School of Business in 1971.
Following his college graduation, Akin served as an engineer officer in the National Guard of the U.S. Army, then served in the Army Reserve until 1980. After leaving active duty, Akin worked as a salesman for IBM marketing large computer systems, and later went to work in management in the family steel business.
Akin earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1984 from Covenant Theological Seminary where he studied Greek, Hebrew and a socially conservative interpretation of the Christian scriptures. He did not enter the ministry.
Akin is a longtime pro-life activist and former member of the board of Missouri Right to Life. He was arrested for trespass at least eight times between 1985 and 1988 while demonstrating against abortion in front of abortion clinics in Illinois and Missouri. He has said the protests were peaceful and he would not apologize for standing up for his beliefs. At the time of the arrests, he was using the name "William Akin"; after that period, when he ran for political office, it was as "Todd Akin".
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