Duncan Brown Cooper

Duncan Brown Cooper (April 21, 1844 – November 4, 1922) was an American journalist, publisher and Democratic politician. He served in both the Tennessee House of Representatives and in the Tennessee Senate.

In 1908, he became involved in a feud with a political opponent and newspaper competitor, Edward W. Carmack. Cooper warned Carmack that if his name appeared again in Carmack's newspaper, The Tennessean, he would retaliate. Cooper and his son did in fact retaliate after Carmack ignored the warning and continued to attack and satirize Cooper. Carmack was shot and killed shortly thereafter.

In the court case that followed Carmack's murder, Cooper and his son were convicted of second degree murder, and Duncan Cooper was given a sentence of 20 years in prison. His son was granted a new trial on appeal, but the prosecution decided against pursuing the case.

Early life Duncan Brown Cooper was born at "Mulberry Hill" near Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee in 1844.

On November 9, 1908, Cooper and his son Robin encountered Carmack on a Nashville street.

During the first trial, both Cooper and his son Robin were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Personal life In 1865, Cooper married Florence Fleming (1843-1870); the couple had three children. After her death, he remarried, to Mary Polk Jones (1856-1893). They had five children. He was buried in the cemetery of Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Tennessee.