King F. Cole was born in 1922. He worked as the head of the Sacremento Redevelopment Agency and the San Leandro Community Developement Office before coming in Spokane in 1963 to assume leadership of Spokane Unlimited, a group of businessmen who wanted to rejuvenate Spokane's downtown business district. After arriving in Spokane, Cole proposed that the city host a world's fair as a means of revitalization. He served as president of what was to become Expo '74.
Following the success of Expo '74, Cole formed an urban planning and consulting business and worked as a consultant on a number of Expos and world's fairs, including the 1982 world's fair in Knoxville, TN, the 1984 Expo in New Orleans, the 1986 Expo in Vancouver, B.C., and the 1992 Expo in Seville, Spain.
From the guide to the King F. Cole Papers, 1962 -1992, (Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives)
