John Cobb Cooper
Encyclopedia
John Cobb Cooper, Jr. was an American
jurist
, airline executive and presidential advisor.
John Cooper Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Florida
to John Cobb and Mary Coldwell Cooper. After graduating from Lawrenceville School
in New Jersey
, he was educated at Princeton University
and received an A.B. in 1909. In 1911 was admitted to the Florida Bar. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1916 and 1924. In 1917 he joined the U.S. Navy, and would reach the rank of lieutenant by the end of World War I
. He was married to Martha Helen Marvel in 1918 and the couple had three children: two girls and a boy. A year later he was relieved from active service and became a member of the Naval Reserve. In 1921 his rank became Lieutenant-Commander.
From 1927–34 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Florida State Bar Association Law Journal. He was appointed to the International Technical Committee of Legal Aerial Experts, 1932–34. He became Vice President of Pan American Airways 1934–45, serving on the board of directors 1944–46. In 1947 he served as a consultant to the U.S. President's Air Policy Commission. He was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, 1945–50. In 1951, Cooper founded the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, which had become the home of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. body charged with safety in air navigation. In 1952 he was awarded his LL.D. from McGill University
. From 1951–57 he was professor of International Air Law at McGill University, becoming the first director of the Institute of International Air Law, after which he was named Professor Emeritus.
He was the author of the book The Right to Fly and pioneered legal thought on air/space rights of man-made satellites in orbit, commencing with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957 when asked by President Eisenhower to render a legal opinion on "flyover rights" when Sputnik was orbiting over the United States. His honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Princeton University, declared him the "Father of Air Space Law".
He was the legal counsel to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from the early 1950s through the end of his life.
He was a pioneer in the field of international law as it applied to air and space. He wrote the first article on the topic of space ownership, "High Altitude Flight and National Sovereignty," in 1951.
His younger brother was movie producer Merian C. Cooper, perhaps most famous for the creation of the movie King Kong in 1933, and whose position as a Director of Pan Am was responsible for recommending his older brother for the position of Pan Am's legal counsel and Vice President.
He flew with Charles Lindbergh, a consultant for PanAm, in small aircraft on site surveys to select sites in Ireland (Shannon) and France (Orly) for airports as Pan Am's services overseas increased.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, airline executive and presidential advisor.
John Cooper Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to John Cobb and Mary Coldwell Cooper. After graduating from Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, he was educated at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received an A.B. in 1909. In 1911 was admitted to the Florida Bar. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1916 and 1924. In 1917 he joined the U.S. Navy, and would reach the rank of lieutenant by the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was married to Martha Helen Marvel in 1918 and the couple had three children: two girls and a boy. A year later he was relieved from active service and became a member of the Naval Reserve. In 1921 his rank became Lieutenant-Commander.
From 1927–34 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Florida State Bar Association Law Journal. He was appointed to the International Technical Committee of Legal Aerial Experts, 1932–34. He became Vice President of Pan American Airways 1934–45, serving on the board of directors 1944–46. In 1947 he served as a consultant to the U.S. President's Air Policy Commission. He was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, 1945–50. In 1951, Cooper founded the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, which had become the home of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. body charged with safety in air navigation. In 1952 he was awarded his LL.D. from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. From 1951–57 he was professor of International Air Law at McGill University, becoming the first director of the Institute of International Air Law, after which he was named Professor Emeritus.
He was the author of the book The Right to Fly and pioneered legal thought on air/space rights of man-made satellites in orbit, commencing with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957 when asked by President Eisenhower to render a legal opinion on "flyover rights" when Sputnik was orbiting over the United States. His honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Princeton University, declared him the "Father of Air Space Law".
He was the legal counsel to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from the early 1950s through the end of his life.
He was a pioneer in the field of international law as it applied to air and space. He wrote the first article on the topic of space ownership, "High Altitude Flight and National Sovereignty," in 1951.
His younger brother was movie producer Merian C. Cooper, perhaps most famous for the creation of the movie King Kong in 1933, and whose position as a Director of Pan Am was responsible for recommending his older brother for the position of Pan Am's legal counsel and Vice President.
He flew with Charles Lindbergh, a consultant for PanAm, in small aircraft on site surveys to select sites in Ireland (Shannon) and France (Orly) for airports as Pan Am's services overseas increased.
Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctor of Laws, Princeton University, 1959.http://www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/honorary/
- The crater CooperCooper (crater)Cooper is a lunar crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the east of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and west-southwest of the crater Chappell....
on the far side of the MoonFar side of the MoonThe far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned away, and is not visible from the surface of the Earth. The far hemisphere was first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959, and was first directly observed by human eyes when the Apollo 8 mission orbited the Moon...
is named after him.