Born in Petersburg, Virginia to Hattie L. and Herbert F. McFadden Sr. on April 2, 1924, McFadden moved to Detroit with his parents at age three. He served with the U.S. Army's Engineering Corps during World War II at the Aleutian Islands, and later attended Wayne State University for two years. For thirty-one years, McFadden worked as an inspector for the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. McFadden first ran for public office in 1970, when he was elected to Detroit's Region Five School Board. In 1972 he ran for the city's Central Board of Education and was reelected four years later. He was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1977.
From the description of Herbert F. McFadden Jr. papers, 1977-1979. (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 297113946
