Ralph Dayton Cole, Jr. (June 12, 1914 – September 2, 1999) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

. A graduate of

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

and Case Western Reserve University, he was originally elected to an at-large district in 1954 to represent Hancock County, Ohio, and he would go on to serve seven more terms in the House. Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Cole served on various committees in leadership positions, most notably as chairman of the State and Government Committee. In 1968, Cole was appointed to a judicial seat for the

Ohio District Courts of Appeals The Ohio District Courts of Appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the U.S. state of Ohio. The Ohio Constitution provides for courts of appeals that have jurisdiction to review final appealable orders. There are twelve appellate districts ...

, and resigned prior to the end of his term. In 1981, Judge Cole also served as chief justice of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals, and also served on the

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

when a substitute was needed. He would go on to serve for over twenty years, retiring from the bench in 1989. Following his service in the judiciary, he retired to his hometown of

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 census. It is home ...

. He died on September 2, 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Ralph Williams College alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 1914 births 1999 deaths People from Findlay, Ohio 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians