Rep. Paul G. Rogers, 87; Washington's 'Mr. Health'

He served on numerous boards, including the American Cancer Society, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Rand Corp. He was a past board chairman of the Scripps Research Institute, ResearchAmerica and the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

The main plaza at NIH was named for him in 2001. The federal courthouse in West Palm Beach also bears his name.

Paul Grant Rogers was born in Ocilia, Ga., on June 4, 1921, and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a child. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1942 and served in the Army during World War II, receiving the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in the European theater.

He graduated from the University of Florida's law school in 1948 and practiced law in Palm Beach until 1955, when he won a special election to fill the congressional seat held by his father, Dwight L. Rogers, who had died.

Florida's 9th Congressional District, then one of the largest in the nation as measured by geography, is now divided into 10 districts. The younger Mr. Rogers was reelected 11 times, often without opposition, and in his last campaign he won 91 percent of the vote.

In his post-Capitol Hill years, he won multiple awards, including the National Academy of Science Public Welfare Medal in 1982 and the Albert Lasker Award for Public Service in 1993. ResearchAmerica set up the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research to fight diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poorest nations.

Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Rebecca Rogers of Washington; a daughter, Rebecca Laing Sisto of Westfield, N.J.; a brother; and four grandchildren.