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 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

– 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, behi ...

) 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 (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. 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 ...

after the city's 1898 consolidation and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

. He narrowly lost the election to Governor

Benjamin Odell Jr. Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. (January 14, 1854May 9, 1926) was an American businessman and politician who served as the List of Governors of New York, 34th Governor of New York from 1901 to 1904. Early life Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1854, Odel ...

Biography

Personal

Coler was born on October 9, 1868, in

, 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 Sta ...

. 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, became prominent in municipal and State politics, and was first Comptroller of Greater New York, from 1897 to 1901. In

, he was the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee for Governor of New York, but lost to Benjamin B. Odell, Jr., 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 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, behin ...

, on the Municipal Ownership ticket. In

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

, 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 on

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 8 ...

bears his name.

References

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 {{US-political-writer-stub