Arthur D. Cooble

Early History

Arthur D. Cooble). (1848-1924) was born on April 14, 1848 in present day Toronto Ontario to Charles Cooble and Mary Smith. After graduating from Upper Canada College in 1868 majoring in Law he created a successful practice which made him moderately wealthy. However, a severe bout of dysentery forced him to sell his practice in 1885.

3rd Education Minister of Canada

After completely recovering from is illness in 1891, Arthur's long time friend, the recently elected Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott asked Arthur if he would join his cabinet and become the 3rd Education Minister of Canada. Minister Cooble accepted and was the 3rd Education Minister of Canada for 4 years before retiring and being replaced by Sir George Smith.

Birth of the Cooble
In his relatively short time in office, Minister Cooble introduced a new unit of measurement known as the "Cooble". At the time, Canada was widely using the Imperial System and he wanted a unique Canadian measurement to differentiate between the Americans. In 1892, the "Cooble " ,officially "8.04 inches", was created and lasted until 1978 due to the introduction of the metric system. Although not an official Canadian measurement anymore, road signs implementing the Cooble are still in existance in Rural Canada.

Later Life and Death
After his time in Office, Miniser Cooble lived a quiet life alone on Prince Edward Island. Having no wife or Children through his lifetime, Minister Cooble died suddenly on September 12, 1924 due to heart failure with only his maid by his bedside. Although his relatively obscure life is not widely known, his legacy in the Cooble will live on.

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