Governor of Texas, US Senator. He was born near Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1848 with a law degree. Moving to Texas in 1850, he began practicing law in Waco. Coke was a delegate to the Secession Convention at Austin in 1861. After the war he returned to Waco, where he was appointed a Texas District Court judge (1865); in 1866 he was elected an associate justice to the Texas Supreme Court, but was removed a year later because he was thought to be an "impediment to reconstruction." Coke was elected as the 14th Texas Governor in 1873. He took office in January 1874 despite incumbent Edmond J. Davis's resistance and an attempt of the Texas Supreme Court to nullify the election. He went on to serve two terms. As governor, Coke turned his attention to education and tax reform, established a funding system for schools, and opened Texas A&M University. Frontier security was also a major concern. He sent forces to the border to protect Texans from marauding Mexican bandits, and he also enlisted federal help with Indian problems and organized troops in areas where Indian raids were frequent. The main focus of his administration was to balance the budget and to revise the state Constitution, which was adopted in 1876 after more than a dozen years of war and military rule. He resigned as Governor in 1876 upon being elected to the US Senate, a position which he held for three terms, until 1895. He died at his home in Waco after a short illness. He is considered one of the important leaders in Texas in the late nineteenth century and Coke County in West Texas is named in his honor.
Governor of Texas, US Senator. He was born near Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1848 with a law degree. Moving to Texas in 1850, he began practicing law in Waco. Coke was a delegate to the Secession Convention at Austin in 1861. After the war he returned to Waco, where he was appointed a Texas District Court judge (1865); in 1866 he was elected an associate justice to the Texas Supreme Court, but was removed a year later because he was thought to be an "impediment to reconstruction." Coke was elected as the 14th Texas Governor in 1873. He took office in January 1874 despite incumbent Edmond J. Davis's resistance and an attempt of the Texas Supreme Court to nullify the election. He went on to serve two terms. As governor, Coke turned his attention to education and tax reform, established a funding system for schools, and opened Texas A&M University. Frontier security was also a major concern. He sent forces to the border to protect Texans from marauding Mexican bandits, and he also enlisted federal help with Indian problems and organized troops in areas where Indian raids were frequent. The main focus of his administration was to balance the budget and to revise the state Constitution, which was adopted in 1876 after more than a dozen years of war and military rule. He resigned as Governor in 1876 upon being elected to the US Senate, a position which he held for three terms, until 1895. He died at his home in Waco after a short illness. He is considered one of the important leaders in Texas in the late nineteenth century and Coke County in West Texas is named in his honor.
Bio by: H M G
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