Call Number:

MSS.018

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library

Extent:

1 linear feet (2 boxes)

Language Note:

English, French, German.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item], in the John Cobb Cooper Records, Rare Books and Manuscripts Archive, MSS.018, Biddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA.

Date:

1946-1967 (inclusive)

Creator:

Cooper, John C. (John Cobb)

Form:

Publications (documents)

Abstract:

John Cobb Cooper, Jr., a prolific writer in international air and space law, was born on September 18, 1887 in Jacksonville, Florida. Cooper received his A.B. from Princeton University in 1909 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1911. Cooper married Martha Helen Marvel in 1918 and the couple had three children. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1917-1921 and held the rank of lieutenant and eventually Lieutenant-Commander. After being relieved from active service with the U.S. Navy, Cooper's embarked on a career that eventually led him to publish and present numerous articles on international air and space law. Nearing the end of his life in 1966, Cooper specifically selected 54 of his published articles on air and space law in hopes to be included in the Anna and Jonas Berger Memorial Space Law Collection at Biddle Law Library. The John Cobb Cooper Records document Cooper's donation. The collection consists of papers Cooper wrote, presented, or published in various publications from 1946-1966. A majority of the articles are in English, but some are in French and German editions.

John Cobb Cooper, Jr. was born on September 18, 1887 in Jacksonville, Florida. Cooper studied at Princeton University and received his A.B. in 1909. Cooper continued his education in the field of law and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1911. In 1917, Cooper enlisted in the U.S. Navy and eventually reached the rank of lieutenant by the end of World War I. Cooper married Martha Helen Marvel in 1918 and the couple had three children: two girls and a boy. A year later he was relieved from active service and became a member of the Naval Reserve. In 1921 his rank became Lieutenant-Commander.

Relieved from active duty, Cooper served as Editor-in-Chief of the Florida State Bar Association Law Journal from 1927-1934. He was appointed to the International Technical Committee of Legal Aerial Experts from 1932–1934. He became Vice President of Pan American Airways from 1934–1945, and served on the board of directors from 1944–1946. In 1947 he served as a consultant to the U.S. President's Air Policy Commission. He was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, 1945–1950. It was at this time that Cooper began writing and presenting his papers on the legal issues surrounding air space. From the early 1950s through the end of his life, Cooper served as the legal counsel to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In 1951, Cooper founded the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal. This Institution had become the U.N. body charged with safety in air navigation known as the International Civil Aviation Organization. In 1952 he was awarded his LL.D. from McGill University. From 1951–57 he was professor of International Air Law at McGill University, becoming the first director of the Institute of International Air Law, after which he was named Professor Emeritus. John Cobb Cooper, Jr. died on July 22, 1967.

Materials in the John Cobb Cooper Records were selected by Cooper so they could be donated to the Anna and Jonas Berger Memorial Space Law Collection at the Biddle Law Library. The collection primarily consists of papers Cooper wrote, presented, or published in various journals from 1946-1966. Other materials in the collection include correspondence, unpublished bibliography on Aerospace Law Writings from 1931-1965 by John Cobb Cooper, reference material on space science, Cooper's curriculum vitae, and handwritten flash cards with bibliographic information.

1. Anna and Jonas Berger Memorial Space Law Collection