Governor Lorrin Alamson Cooke

LORRIN ALAMSON COOKE, Connecticut’s 40th governor, was born in New Marlboro, Massachusetts, on April 6, 1831. He attended Norfolk Academy in Connecticut, and later taught school in the Connecticut public school system. Cooke entered politics in 1856 as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, a position he held for one year. He also served in the Connecticut State Senate from 1883 to 1885, was president of the Senate from 1884 to 1885. He was lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1885 to 1887, and again from 1895 to 1897. Cooke won the 1896 Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected Governor of Connecticut. During his tenure, he advocated for tightening subsidies on public funds to reduce the substantial budget deficit his administration inherited. Cooke was successful in his attempts in leaving a financially sound state treasury, even with increased governmental expenditures, which resulted from the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. On January 4, 1899 Cooke left office, retiring from public service, but staying active in civic events. Governor Lorrin A. Cooke died on August 12, 1902, in Winsted, Connecticut.