Charles Cooley

Charles Horton Cooley
Cooley from 1902 Michiganensian
Born	(1864-08-17)17 August 1864 Ann Arbor, Michigan
Died	7 May 1929(1929-05-07) (aged 65) Ann Arbor, Michigan
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Institutions	University of Michigan
Main interests	Politics, economics, psychology, sociology, social psychology
Influences Herbert Blumer, George Herbert Mead

Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864 – May 7, 1929) was an American sociologist and the son of Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan, and he was a founding member and the eighth president of the American Sociological Association. He is perhaps best known for his concept of the looking glass self, which is the concept that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. He would eventually attain the title of president of the American Sociological Society, where he enjoyed the successful publishing of his work. At the end of his life he became very ill, and succumbed to an unidentified form of cancer in 1929.

Charles Horton Cooley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on August 17, 1864, to Mary Elizabeth Horton and Thomas M. Cooley. His father was very successful in the legal field, and with a high social status he was well respected in the community. Thomas Cooley was the Supreme Court Judge for the state of Michigan, and he was one of the first three faculty members to start the University of Michigan Law School. He was then later appointed the dean at the law school from 1859-1884. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Horton took an active interest with public affairs and traveled with her husband to several cities around the United States in relation to the Interstate Commerce Commission. His father was a very successful man that stressed the importance of education to his six children. Nevertheless, Cooley had a difficult childhood and was somewhat of a passive child, and this exacerbated his feelings of detachment towards his father. The intimidation and alienation he felt by his own father at a young age took a toll in his life later on. Due to this situation, he suffered for fifteen years from a variety of illnesses, some appearing to be psychosomatic. He was shy and developed several insecurities due to his speech impediment, and lack of playmates. Cooley was a day dreamer and many of his "dreaming-life" had some form of influence to his sociological works. As a child he dealt with the feeling of isolation and loneliness, which led him to take an interest in reading and writing.