Nathan Cole Jr. (1860–1921) was one of the two founders of the ''Los Angeles Daily Times,'' now the ''
Los Angeles Times''. The son of
Nathan Cole, a wealthy
St. Louis, Missouri, 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]
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Cole worked on a St. Louis newspaper, then traveled west to
Portland, Oregon, and to
Woodland, California. 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
The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen. The current mayor i ...
. 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. Cole was an early member of the Jonathan Club and was a ]Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
and a member of the Sons of the Revolution. He was appointed to the police commission by Mayor Arthur C. Harper
Arthur Cyprian Harper (1866–1948) was the 26th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, from December 13, 1906, to March 11, 1909. He was forced to resign in the wake of a recall drive due to dishonesty that marked his administration. While may ...
.[
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]
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See also
* List of Los Angeles Times publishers
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