Ernest E. Cole (November 18, 1871 – November 19, 1949) was a New York state lawmaker who served as
Commissioner of Education of the State of New York The Commissioner of Education of the State of New York is the head of the State Education Department, chosen by the Board of Regents. The Commissioner also serves as the President of the University of the State of New York
The University of the ...
from 1940 to 1942.
Early life and education
Cole was born in
Savona, New York
Savona is a Village (New York), village in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 827 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Savona in Italy.
The Village of Savona is located ...
. He graduated from Haverling High School in
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, and then attended
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, from which he graduated in 1895. He was admitted to the state bar the same year. After graduating from Cornell, Cole served as the principal of high schools at
Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood.
Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to:
People
* Greenwood (surname)
Settlements
Australia
* Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region
* Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth
C ...
,
Painted Post
Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction o ...
, and
Addison
Addison may refer to:
Places Canada
* Addison, Ontario
United States
*Addison, Alabama
*Addison, Illinois
*Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field
*Addison, Kentucky
*Addison, Maine
*Addison, Michigan
*Addison, New York
* ...
. He was a member of the
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and the
Odd Fellows. In 1941, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Pedagogy from
Oglethorpe University.
Political career
He entered politics as a
Republican. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
(Steuben Co., 1st D.) in
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
,
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
and
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
; and a member of the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan com ...
from 1923 to 1926, sitting in the
146th,
147th,
148th and
149th New York State Legislature
The 149th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 23, 1926, during the fourth year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.
Backgro ...
s. Based upon his background as an educator, Cole became a leader in the legislature on matters of education, and became chairman of the senate committee on public education during his tenure in that body. In this capacity, he sponsored the "Cole Laws" of 1925, which helped fund local school districts within constitutional limitations. The bills were called "a long step in the improvement of the State's educational system."
Education Department
In recognition of Cole's leadership on these issues, he was appointed counsel of the State Education Department on July 1, 1926. Two years later, he was made a deputy commissioner of the Education Department, and in 1940 he was made
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
.
Cole retired from the department in 1942. He died on November 19, 1949. He was buried at
Seamans Cemetery in
Savona
Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.
Savona used to be one of the chie ...
.
[Seamans Cemetery Website, http://www.paintedhills.org/STEUBEN/BathSeamans/SeamansAL.html]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Ernest E
Cornell University alumni
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
People from Steuben County, New York
1871 births
1949 deaths
Commissioners of Education of the State of New York
New York (state) state senators
Educators from New York (state)
Members of the Odd Fellows