Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/758

716 Cook's first voyage was published under the direction of Dr. Hawkesworth; his second was chronicled by himself; while the third was prepared from his journal by Lieut. King. The charts and plates illustrating the last were executed at the expense of the government, and half the profits of the work were given to his family. A narrative of the third voyage was also published in Hartford, Conn., by John Ledyard, who accompanied the expedition. Distinguished honors were paid to his memory, and a medal in commemoration of him was struck by order of the Royal society. His widow received a pension of £200 per annum, and each of his children £25.

COOK, James Merrill, financier, b. in Ballston, N. y., 19 Nov., 1807; d. in Saratoga, 12 April, 1868. His father was a lawyer and judge in Saratoga county, and offered James a liberal education. But the son preferred the counting-room to the college, and devoted some years to a clerkship in New York city. When he was about thirty-one years of age he was elected to a local office in his native town. His ardent support of whig principles brought him followers, and he was chosen to many town and county offices during the succeeding ten years. He was a member of the constitutional convention in 1846, and a member of the state senate in 1848-51, and again in 1864-'5. In 1851 he received a certificate as state treasurer, and discharged the duties of the office for about a year, when the claims of his competitor in the election were established, and he retired. During 1854-'5 he filled the office of state comptroller with such marked ability that it resulted in his being offered the superintendency of the banking department of the state. In order to accept the office, it was necessary for him to divest himself of all interest in any banks in the state, and he was president of the Ballston Spa bank, having been one of the original corporators, and the owner of a large amount of stock in that and other institutions. At the solicitation of capitalists throughout the state, he sold out his stock and accepted the office. The salary had been but $2,500, but was by act of legislature increased to $5,000. Mr. Cook served from 30 Jan., 1856, till 16 April, 1861. Frauds were detected, worthless banks wound up, laws improved, guards and securities multiplied. To such an extent was his policy carried out that the financial crisis of 1857 did not affect the credit of the state. Though specie payments in the United States were generally suspended, the paper bills of New York state banks continued to pass at par throughout the country. His last report as superintendent of the banking department of New York called out elaborate reviews from various European journals. In 1858 his name was prominently before the republican convention as a candidate for governor, but at his own solicitation was withdrawn.

COOK, John, Canadian clergyman, b. in Sanquhar in 1810; d. in Quebec, 1 April, 1892. He was educated at Edinburgh university, and received his theological training under Dr. Chalmers; was ordained by the presbytery of Dumbarton in 1835, in the year following arrived in Quebec, and shortly afterward was appointed pastor of St. Andrew's church in that city. When the disruption took place in 1843, he retained his connection with the Established church of Scotland, and when the establishment of Queen's college, Kingston, was determined upon, he exerted himself to secure the necessary endowment, and had been a trustee of the institution ever since. In 1857 he assumed the presidency temporarily, and during two sessions acted as professor of divinity. The founding of Morin college, Quebec, was largly due to his efforts, and after its establishment he was the lecturer on divinity. In 1861 he proposed resolutions favoring a union between the free and the established branches of the Presbyterian church, and in 1875 such a union was effected, when Dr. Cook was moderator of the first general assembly.

COOK, Joseph, author, b. in Ticonderoga, N. Y., 26 Jan., 1838. He is the son of a farmer. When he was nine years of age he attended an auction of a district-school library, and purchased every book of merit in the collection. As a reward for good scholarship he was offered his choice be- tween a watch and a cyclopaedia, and chose the latter. He entered Yale in 1858, but, his health becoming impaired, he left early in 1861. In 1863 he entered Harvard as a junior, and was graduated in 1865, not only receiving high honors, but carry- ing off several prizes. Mr. Cook then studied three years at Andovei-, adding a fourth year for special study of advanced religious and philosophical thought. A license was granted to him, but he declined all invitations to any settlement as pastor. He preached in Andover during 1868-'70, and was acting pastor in Lynn, Mass., in 1870-'l. In 1871 he went to Europe and studied at Halle, Leipsic, Berlin, and Heidelberg, then travelled in Italy, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and northern Africa. Re- turning to the United States near the close of 1873, he became a lecturer on the relations of religion, science, and current reform. His lectures in Tremont temple, Boston, soon became widely known as the " Boston Monday Lectures," and, although delivered at noonday, they drew audiences to the full capacity of the hall, which seats 8,000. The lectures were reported in many newspapers, and were afterward issued in book-form. Philosophy, science, and politics were discussed, and so great was their popularity that a series was pre- pared for general delivery. The following topics were selected, and, as occasion offered, the lectures were delivered in ' various cities of the United States: 1. "Does Death end AH?" 2. "Seven Modern Wonders." 3. " Ultimate America." 4. " Certainties in Religion." 5. " England and America as Competitors and Allies." 6. " Political Signs of the Times.'" 7. " Alcohol and the Hu- man Brain." 8. " Law and Labor, Property and Poverty." 9. " God in Natural Law." 10. " Religious Signs of the Times." 11. " What saves Men, and Why 1 " 12. " A Night on the Acropolis." During "the winter of 1878-'9 Mr. Cook con- ducted a Boston Monday-noon lectureship and a New York Thursday-evening lectureship, besides filling a large number of engagements. In 1880, in answer to invitations from abroad, he decided to make a lecturing tour around the world. He was everywhere received with immense audiences. He made 135 public appearances in Great Britain, passed several months in Germany and Italy, and went to India by way of Greece, Palestine, and Egypt. From India his tour extended to China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Sandwich islands, returning home by way of San Francisco. In Japan he gave twelve lectures — six in English and six through an interpreter — to audiences composed chiefly of Japanese students, teachers, and public men. Mr. Cook's popularity arises from the fact that he attempts to show that science is in harmony with religion and the Bible. His published works are " Biology " (Boston, 1877) ; " Transcendentalism " (1877) ; "'Orthodoxy " (1877) ; "Conscience" (1878); "Heredity" (1878); "Marriage" (1878); "Labor" (1879); "Socialism" (1880) ; " Occident " (1884) ; " Orient " (1886).