George Watson Cole
{{Short description|American librarian and bibliographer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George Watson Cole
| image = George Watson Cole 1922 (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1850|09|06}}
| birth_place = Warren, Connecticut
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1939|10|10|1850|09|06}}
| death_place = San Marino, California
| burial_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park
| nationality =
| other_names =
| known_for = Bibliographer and Director of the Huntington Library (1915-1924)
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Librarian
| signature = Signature of George Watson Cole (1850–1939).png
}}
George Watson Cole (September 6, 1850 – October 10, 1939) was an American librarian and bibliographer.
Biography
George Watson Cole was born in Warren, Connecticut on September 6, 1850. He was educated at Phillips Academy, and began practicing law in 1876.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/twentiethcentur04browgoog/page/n336/mode/1up |title=The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans |volume=II |editor1-first=Rossiter |editor1-last=Johnson |editor2-first=John Howard |editor2-last=Brown |publisher=The Biographical Society |location=Boston |page= |year=1904 |access-date=2022-03-02 |via=Internet Archive}}
He began working in libraries at the age of 35. Starting in 1885, Cole worked to compile a printed catalogue of the Fitchburg, Massachusetts Public Library. In 1886, he became librarian for the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, New York. In 1888, Cole entered the first class of Melvil Dewey's library school at Columbia College. He graduated from the program in 1888 and went to work for the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Cole left Chicago in 1891 to work as the librarian of the Free Public Library of Jersey City, New Jersey. He left Jersey City in 1895 to travel and work on bibliographic research.{{cite web|title=Cole, George Watson, Papers, 1851-1939|url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Findingaids/george_watson_cole.pdf|website=American Antiquarian Society|accessdate=15 March 2016}} Cole's most celebrated work was a series of annotated catalogs of the private library of E. Dwight Church.{{cite web|title=Guide to the George Watson Cole Papers|url=http://drs.library.yale.edu/HLTransformer/HLTransServlet?stylename=yul.ead2002.xhtml.xsl&pid=mssa:ms.0143&clear-stylesheet-cache=yes|website=Yale University Library|accessdate=15 March 2016}}
From 1915 to 1924, Cole served as the librarian of the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery.{{cite web|title=George Watson Cole Papers|url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8h41vmb/|website=Online Archive of California|accessdate=15 March 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Werts|first1=Brandon D.|title=Early Library Staff : George Watson Cole|url=https://thehuntingtonlibrarystudy.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/early-library-staff-george-watson-cole/|website=A Look at the History of The Huntington Library|accessdate=15 March 2016|date=May 14, 2014}} Cole was president of the Bibliographical Society of America from 1916-1921.Van Hoesen, Henry B. (1941). "The Bibliographical Society of America—Its Leaders and Activities, 1904–1939". Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 35 (3): 177–202.
He died at his home in San Marino, California on October 10, 1939, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96840613/dr-george-cole-funeral-held/ |title=Dr. George Cole Funeral Held |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=30 |date=1939-10-13 |access-date=2022-03-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}
In 1999, Cole was named as one of 100 American librarians who made a lasting impact on library service and the nation."100 of the Most Important Leaders we had in the 20th century" (December 1999) American Libraries, 30 (11): 38-46, 48.
Publications
- "[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3921786 The Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery]" (1923)
- "[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b690313 The First folio of Shakespeare; a further word regarding the correct arrangement of its preliminary leaves]" (1909)
- "[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951001490574a Check list of some of the rarities in the library of E. Dwight Church of New York city]" (1903)
- "[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015034560303 Libraries of Greater New York : Manual and historical sketch of the New York Library Club]" (1902)
- "[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$c217525 Classified catalogue of the public library, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts]" (1886)
References
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Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Category:People from Warren, Connecticut
Category:Phillips Academy alumni
Category:Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America
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