Nathan Cole Jr. (1860–1921) was one of the two founders of the ''Los Angeles Daily Times,'' now the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. The son of Nathan Cole, a wealthy

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, politician and banker, he was 21 years old in 1881 when he and a colleague, Thomas Gardiner, put together the first issues of the new venture to be printed on the presses of the Mirror Publishing Company. Later he was a real estate man and a Los Angeles city police commissioner."Early-Day Editor Is Summoned," ''Los Angeles Times,'' December 8, 1921, page I-1
''Access to this link will require the use of a library card.'' Cole worked on a St. Louis newspaper, then traveled west to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and to

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

. He came to Los Angeles specifically to start a newspaper, which ran into financial difficulty and was taken over by General Harrison Gray Otis in 1882. Cole returned to St. Louis, where he went into business with his father, Nathan Cole, who had been a U.S. Representative in Congress and Mayor of St. Louis. Cole soon returned to Los Angeles, where he remained until he died on December 7, 1921. Cole began his Los Angeles career as a Republican editing a Republican newspaper, but he switched to the Democrats and became a leader of the local party. He was a Democratic committeeman in the first presidential election campaign of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. Cole was an early member of the

Jonathan Club __NOTOC__ Jonathan Club is a social club with two California locations—one in Downtown Los Angeles and the other abutting the beach in Santa Monica. The club is routinely ranked as one of the top clubs in the world by Platinum Clubs of Americ ...

and was a Mason and a member of the Sons of the Revolution. He was appointed to the police commission by Mayor Arthur C. Harper. Cole was survived by his wife and by two daughters, Gladys Cole and Mrs. R.L. McCrea, and by sons Nathan and Richard H."R.H. Cole, Mine Man, Succumbs," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 24, 1931, page A-3
''Access to this link will require the use of a library card.''

References

External links

"The Times' 128-Year History," ''Los Angeles Times Media Group''

Photograph of Nathan Cole Jr., holding a top hat, about age 20, in the USC Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Nathan Jr. 1860 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from St. Louis California Republicans California Democrats

See also

References

External links