William Titcomb Cobb (July 23, 1857 – July 24, 1937) was an American politician and the 46th Governor of Maine.

Biography

William Titcomb Cobb was born in Rockland, Maine, on July 23, 1857. He graduated in 1877 from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, where he was admitted to the

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

fraternity.Baird, William Raymond (1915). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities,'' pp.349-355 After completing his graduation, he went to study in Germany. He studied at the Leipzig University and the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. After his education in Germany, he returned to the United States and studied law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. In 1880, he was admitted to the bar. He had a successful legal career. He was nominated for the governorship of Maine by the Republican party in 1904. He won the general election. He was sworn into governor's office on January 4, 1905. He won the re-election in 1906. During his administration, harsher prohibition laws and economic restructuring was endorsed. Railroad growth was promoted. A meat inspection law and a pure food and drug law were advocated. Cobb left office on January 6, 1909. He died on July 24, 1937, a day after his 80th birthday, in Rockland, Maine.

Notes

Sources

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988. 1857 births 1937 deaths People from Rockland, Maine Bowdoin College alumni Republican Party governors of Maine Harvard Law School alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Leipzig University alumni Maine lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers {{Maine-politician-stub