Richard Coke (March 13, 1829–May 14, 1897) was an American lawyer, farmer, and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from 1877 to 1895. March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. ... ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Richard was born in Williamsburg, Virginia to John and Eliza (Hankins) Coke. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1848 with a law degree. In 1850 he moved to Texas and opened a law practice in Waco. In 1852 he married Mary Horne of Waco. The couple would have four children, but all of them died before age 30. Williamsburg is a city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. ... The College of William and Mary The College of William and Mary in Virginia is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States (after Harvard). ...

Coke was a delegate to the Succession Convention at Austin in 1861. In 1862 he raised a company that became part of the 15th Texas Infantry, and served as its Captain for the rest of the war. He was wounded in an action known as Bayou Bourbeau on November 3, 1863 near Opelousas, Louisiana. After the war he returned home to Waco. 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The city of Opelousas is the parish seat of St. ...

In 1865 he was appointed a Texas District Court Judge, then in 1866 he was elected as an Associate Justice to the Texas Supreme Court. The following year the military governor, Philip Sheridan, ordered his removal as a part of the reconstruction policies. 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... The U.S. state of Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, which is the highest state appellate court for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency, which the law considers to be a civil matter and not criminal) and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest... Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career U.S. Army officer and one of the great generals in the American Civil War. ... In the history of the United States, reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the states of the breakaway Confederacy were reintegrated into the United States of America. ...

Coke was elected Governor as a Democrat in 1873, and took office in January of 1874. He resigned in December of 1876 to take up his new job as a Senator. His administration was marked by vigorous action to balance the budget and by a revised State Constitution adopted in 1876. He was also instrumental in creating the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, which became Texas A&M University. The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Texas A&M University, often Texas A&M, A&M or TAMU for short, is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. ...

First elected to the United States Senate in 1876, Coke took office on March 5, 1877. He would be elected twice more, and served until March 3, 1895. Coke was not a candidate for reelection in 1894. Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Richard retired to his home in Waco and his nearby farm. He became ill after suffering exposure while fighting a flood of the Brazos River in April of 1897. After a short illness, he died at his home in Waco on May 14, 1897 and was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery there. Coke County is named in his honor. The Brazos River is the longest river in Texas, running 1360 km (840 mi) from the center of the state to the Gulf of Mexico. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Coke County is a county located in the state of Texas. ...

External links

• Coke’s biography at the U.S. Congress website
• Biography from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Find-A-Grave profile for Richard Coke