Melvin Robert "Bom" Laird (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician and writer. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon.
Laird died from complications of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Fort Myers, Florida on November 16, 2016, aged 94.