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William Prentice Cooper

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William Prentice Cooper
Official portrait, 1915
59th Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office
January 4, 1915 – January 1, 1917
Preceded byWilliam M. Stanton
Succeeded byClyde Shropshire
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
January 4, 1915 – January 1, 1917
Preceded byA. A. Stone
Succeeded byJ. R. Hart
Mayor of Shelbyville
In office
1905–1907
Preceded byErnest Coldwell
Succeeded byT. O. Tune
Personal details
BornWilliam Prentice Cooper
(1870-09-27)September 27, 1870
DiedJuly 3, 1961(1961-07-03) (aged 90)
Resting placeJenkins Chapel Cemetery
PartyDemocratic
Spouse
Argentine Shofner
​
​
(m. 1894; died 1954)​
ChildrenPrentice
Relatives
EducationVanderbilt University (LLB)
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • banker
  • politician

William Prentice Cooper (September 27, 1870 – July 3, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Early life

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William Prentice Cooper was born on September 27, 1870. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1890, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.[1]

Career

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Cooper was a lawyer.[1] He served as the mayor of Shelbyville, Tennessee from 1905 to 1907.[2] He also served as the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1915 to 1917.[1][2]

Cooper served on the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee from 1915 to 1958.[2]

The Cooper home in Shelbyville.

Personal life

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Cooper married Argentine Shofner.[3] Their son, Prentice Cooper, served as the 39th Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.[2][3] They resided at the Gov. Prentice Cooper House in Shelbyville, built in 1904 for them, and based on the design of a house he owned in Henderson, Kentucky.[4] His wife inherited the Absalom Lowe Landis House, also known as Beech Hall, in Normandy, Tennessee, where the Coopers summered.[5]

Beech Hall.

Death and legacy

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Cooper died on July 3, 1961.[2] His grandson, Jim Cooper, was a member of the United States House of Representatives who retired from his seat in 2022.[6]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Maxwell, W. J. (1918). General catalogue of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. p. 564. Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "W.P. Cooper Dies At 90". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. July 4, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. 1 2 Onofrio, Jan (2000). Tennessee Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers. ISBN 9780403097005. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Gov. Prentice Cooper House". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  5. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Absalom Lowe Landis House". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ "REP. JIM COOPER OF TENNESSEE IS WED TO MARTHA BRYAN HAYS, ORNITHOLOGIST". The New York Times. April 7, 1985. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
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