Bird Sim Coler (October 9, 1867
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...
– June 12, 1941
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
) was an American stockbroker and politician from
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York. He served as the first
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
after the city's
1898 consolidation and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York in
1902. He narrowly lost the election to Governor
Benjamin Odell Jr.
Biography
Personal
![Brooklyn_politician_Bird_S](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Brooklyn_politician_Bird_S._Coler_and_wife_Emily_Moore_sketched_by_Marguerite_Martyn_July_1908.jpg)
Coler was born on October 9, 1868, in
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...
, the son of William N. Coler and wife. The elder Coler established a banking house after the Civil War and brought his family to Brooklyn.
["Bird S. Coler Dies at 72; Ex-City and Boro Official," ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle,'' June 13, 1941, page 15]
/ref>
The younger Coler was educated at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...
.[
Coler and Emily Moore, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Moore, were married on October 1, 1888. He died on June 12, 1941, in Brooklyn, and she died on August 23, 1941, in the same hospital. They had a son, Eugene Bird Coler.]["Mrs. Emily M. Coler Dies; Widow of Boro President," ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle,'' August 24, 1941]
/ref>[
]
Career
He established himself as a stockbroker
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, became prominent in municipal and State politics, and was first Comptroller of Greater New York, from 1897 to 1901. In 1902, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
, but lost to Benjamin B. Odell, Jr.
Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. (January 14, 1854May 9, 1926) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 34th Governor of New York from 1901 to 1904.
Early life
Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1854, Odell's father, Benjamin B. Odell ...
, by a small plurality in spite of his enormous lead in New York City. In 1905 he was elected president of the Borough of Brooklyn, on the Municipal Ownership ticket. In 1918, he ran unsuccessfully on the Democratic ticket for New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. The New York State Comptroller is the highest-paid state auditor or ...
.
He was the author of ''Commercialism in Politics, Two and Two Make Four, He Made Them Twain,'' and other sociological works.[
]
Legacy
Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital
Coler Specialty Hospital is a chronic care facility on New York City's Roosevelt Island that provides services such as rehabilitation and specialty nursing. The hospital was formed in 1996 by the merger of two separate chronic care hospitals o ...
on Roosevelt Island bears his name.
References
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External links
*
The Political Graveyard entry
People from Brooklyn
New York City Comptrollers
Brooklyn borough presidents
Candidates in the 1904 United States presidential election
American political writers
People from Champaign, Illinois
1867 births
1941 deaths
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
American stockbrokers
19th-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers
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