Thomas M. Cooley
| Thomas McIntyre Cooley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 6, 1824 Attica, New York |
| Died | September 12, 1898 (aged 74) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Occupation | professor, lawyer, jurist |
| Organization | Dean of University of Michigan |
Thomas McIntyre Cooley, LL.D., (January 6, 1824 – September 12, 1898) was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. Born in Attica, New York, he was father to Charles Cooley, a distinguished American sociologist. He was a charter member and first chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission (1887).
Cooley was appointed Dean of the University of Michigan Law School, a position he held until 1884.
Thomas M. Cooley Law School of Lansing, Michigan was named after Justice Cooley to recognize his contribution to American jurisprudence. Also, Cooley High School in Detroit and Cooley Elementary School in Waterford, Michigan are commemoratively named in Justice Cooley's honor.
Justice Cooley is recognized by the State Bar of Michigan as a "Michigan Legal Milestone".
In 1824, Thomas Cooley was born in Attica, New York, to farmers Thomas Cooley and Rachel Hubbard. He attended Attica Academy and took an interest in the law and literary pursuits. In 1842, he studied law under Theron Strong, who had just completed a term as representative for New York to the Congress. The next year, he moved to Adrian, Michigan and continued to study law. By 1846, he was admitted to the Michigan bar and married Mary Horton.
In addition to his small legal practice, Cooley was active in other intellectual and political pursuits. He wrote poems criticizing slavery and celebrating the European revolutions of 1848, edited pro-Democratic newspapers, and founded the Michigan branch of the Free Soil Party in 1848. By 1856, he became a Republican. In the 1850s, he slowly built his professional reputation. He was compiler of Michigan statutes and a reporter for the Michigan Supreme Court. In 1859 he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and became one of the University of Michigan Law School's first professors. He would go on to play a major role in the development of the University and the Law School, serving on faculty until 1884, including a long stint as the law school's dean from 1871 until 1883.
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