John Robert Cooke was a political figure in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He represented Hastings North

Hastings North

Hastings North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1911 to 1934 as a Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 member.

He was born in Rawdon township

Rawdon, Ontario

Rawdon was a historic township in Hastings County in east-central Ontario, Canada.It was founded in 1798 and named after Sir Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings. In 1858, the village of Stirling was incorporated and so became a separate municipality...

, the son of James Cooke, and was educated there. In 1888, Cooke married Emma Wickens. He was named to the Ontario Hydro Electric Power Commission in 1923. Cooke served in the province's Executive Council as a minister without portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

from 1923 to 1930.