Charles W. Cole
Charles W. Cole | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Chile | |
| In office October 21, 1961 – September 27, 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Robert F. Woodward |
| Succeeded by | Ralph A. Dungan |
| 12th President of Amherst College | |
| In office 1946–1960 | |
| Preceded by | Stanley King |
| Succeeded by | Calvin Plimpton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Woolsey Cole February 8, 1906 |
| Died | February 20, 1978 (aged 72) at sea |
| Alma mater | Amherst College, B.A. 1927 Columbia University, M.A. 1928 and Ph.D.1931 |
| Nickname | Charlie |
Charles Woolsey Cole (February 8, 1906 – February 20, 1978) was an American diplomat and academic. He was the United States Ambassador to Chile and the president of Amherst College.
Early life
"Charlie"[1] Cole was born February 8, 1906 in Montclair, New Jersey.[2] He graduated from Montclair High School.[3]
He attended Amherst College, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1927.[4][1] While there, he was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Delta Sigma Rho[2]
Cole received an M.A. from Columbia University in 1928.[3][5] He received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1931.[6][5] His scholarly interest were the 17th‐century France and mercantilism, especially foreign trade under Louis XIV.[6]
Career
Cole taught at Columbia University from 1928 to 1934.[7] He was a Social Science Research Council fellow for year.[7] He published French Mercantalist Doctrines Before Colbert in 1931.[8]
Cole became professor of economics Amhest College in 1935.[3][5] He published Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism in 1939.[6][8] He became a history professor at Columbia University in 1940 to 1945.[1][5] He also taught military government for the United States Navy.[1] During World War II, Cole worked for the Office of Price Adminstration in Washington, D.C. for one year and was a regional price executive in New York City for two years.[7]
Cole was the twelfth president of Amherst College from 1946 to 1960.[4][1] He grew the college's endowment from $16 million to $42 million.[6] He implemented a program requiring freshmen and sophomores to follow a "core curriculum" of English, European civilization, foreign language, and science, rather than electives.[6] This curriculum was in use at Amherst from 1948 to 1966.[6]
Cole retired from Amherst in 1960.[3] In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Cole to be United States Ambassador to Chile.[2][3] He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Chile) from October 21, 1961 to September 27, 1964.[9]
Cole was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1948.[10] He was a member of the American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association, the American Economic Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations.[2] He served on the boards of the Committee on the National Security Organization, Educational Testing Service, the Merrill Foundation for the Advancement of Financial Knowledge, and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.[4]
Personal life
Cole married Katharine Bush Salmon, a writer who attended Smith College.[1] The had two daughters, Katharine and Elizabeth.[6] Katherine died in 1972.[7] He married Marie Greer Donahue in 1974.[6][3]
He was vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation and served on the board of the American Cancer Society, and Wilton Academy.[6][4][3]
Cole died from a heart attack on February 20, 1978, while on a cruise ship off Los Angeles, California.[8][6] He was buried in Wildwood Cemetery in Amherst, Massachusetts.[6]
Selected publications
Books
- Cole, Charles Woolsey. French Mercantalist Doctrines Before Colbert. New York: Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1931
- Cole, Charles Woolsey. Colbert And A Century of French Mercantilism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1939.
- Clough, Shepard Bancroft and Cole, Charles Woolsey. Economic History of Europe. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1941.
- Cole, Charles Woolsey. French Mercantalism 1683-1700. New York: Columbia University Press, 1943.
- Hayes, Carlton J. H. and Baldwin, Marshall Whithed and Cole, Charles Woolsey. History of Europe. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1949.
Journals
- Cole, Charles Woolsey. “The Relativity of History.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2 (1933): 161–71. doi.org/10.2307/2143343.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Education: Cole to Amherst". Time (magazine). February 4, 1946. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Delta Kappa Epsilon Politicians in New Jersey". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Charles Cole, Former President of Amherst". Springfield Daily News. February 8, 1978. p. 20. Retrieved March 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Charles W. Cole (AC 1927) Papers Finding Aid". Amherst College Archives & Special Collections. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Presidential Gallery | Archives Exhibitions". Amherst College. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Charles W. Cole Dies; Once Amherst Head" (PDF). The New York Times. February 8, 1978. p. B2. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Charles Woolsey Cole". Greenfield Recorder. February 8, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved March 19, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors
- ^ "Charles Woolsey Cole - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". United States Department of State. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ "Charles Woolsey Cole". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. April 10, 2025. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
External links
- Charles W. Cole Oral History Interview–4/26/1969 (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)
- Charles W. Cole (AC 1927) Papers (Amherst College Archives & Special Collections)