Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991

Lawyer, politician, U.S. senator, and ambassador.

Judge, U.S. Senator, Ambassador

Cooper was born in Somerset, Ky. and educated in the city's public schools. He was a gifted athlete and president of his senior class. In 1918 he entered Centre College and transferred to Yale University after one year. In 1923 he entered Harvard Law School, but quit after his father died the following year. He served two terms as a county judge and in 1939 made an unsucessful bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and following the end of hostilities, he headed the reorganization of the German judicial system in Bavaria. He returned home to assume a position as a circuit judge.

Cooper was first elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election held in 1946 to fill an unexpired term. In 1948 his bid for re-election was thwarted by Democrat Virgil Chapman. The next year he was appointed a delegate to the United Nations. He also served as advisor to Dean Acheson on NATO matters. Cooper was again elected to the Senate (over Thomas R. Underwood) in 1952 to fill an unexpired term. However, in 1954, his bid for re-election was halted by Alben Barkley. In 1955 he was appointed ambassador to India and Nepal. He became a candidate for the Senate once again in 1956. Beating Lawrence Wetherby in the general election, Cooper then served in Senate until his retirement in 1972. He was involved in many liberal causes, promoting civil rights, coal mine safety, and labor legislation. He also was an active opponent of the Vietnam War.