Delaware
Gov. John Cook
- November 4, 1782 - February 1, 1783
- January 1, 1730
- October 27, 1789
- Delaware
- Married Elizabeth Collins; five children
About
From 1776 to 1792, the executive leader of Delaware was known as the President and was elected by the State General Assembly. After the ratification of the United States Constitution, Delaware developed its own new constitution that called for the popular election of a governor.
JOHN COOK was born near Smyrna, Delaware in 1730. Very little in known about his early life besides the fact that he worked in farming and tanning. Just prior to the Revolution, he was named Sheriff of Kent County, a conservative area opposed to independence. In 1776, he was elected to the State Constitutional Convention and subsequently the House of Representatives in the First General Assembly. After a brief period as a judge, Cook was reelected to the House in 1778 and 1779, followed by an election to the State Senate in 1780. In 1782, Cook became Speaker of the Senate. When President John Dickinson resigned to become governor of Pennsylvania, Cook became acting president. After his term as president ended, he served two additional terms in the State House of Representatives and one in the State Senate. He passed away on October 27, 1789.
*Exact date of birth is unknown*
