John Cobb Cooper

John Cobb Cooper Jr. (September 18, 1887 – July 22, 1967) was an American lawyer, airline executive and presidential advisor. After graduating from Princeton University, he joined the Florida Bar and later the U.S. Navy. Post World War I, he became a member of the Naval Reserve and eventually a Lieutenant-Commander. Cooper held positions such as Editor-in-Chief of the Florida State Bar Association Law Journal, Vice President of Pan American Airways, and consultant to the U.S. President's Air Policy Commission. In 1951, he founded the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University, where he also served as a professor. Known as the "Father of Air Space Law," Cooper authored The Right to Fly and was the legal counsel to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). His contributions earned him various awards and honors, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from Princeton University and a lunar crater named after him. Early life and education John Cooper Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Florida, to John Cobb and Mary Coldwell Cooper. After graduating from Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, he was educated at Princeton University and received an AB degree in 1909.