Ira Clifton Copley

Ira Clifton Copley (October 25, 1864 – November 2, 1947) was an American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon. From 1911 to 1923, he served 6 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives

Life Born in rural Knox County, Illinois, Copley's family moved to Aurora when Copley was 2 so he could be treated for scarlet fever. After graduating from Yale College and the Union College of Law in Chicago, Copley assumed management of the Aurora Gas Light Company. He successfully guided the company into a regional utilities giant, eventually merging his assets into the Western Utility Corporation, which he sold in 1926.

Copley purchased his first newspaper in 1905, eventually amassing over two dozen papers as Copley Press. He was a Republican and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1911, where he served until 1923. From 1915 to 1917, he represented his district as a Progressive. Copley was defeated in a primary in 1922. He is the namesake of the Old Copley Hospital in Aurora, IL, built in 1880, originally named the City Hospital of Aurora. It was re-named in 1937 Copley Memorial Hospital when Mr. Copley donated $2 million toward an expansion. A new hospital was built in 1995 about 3 miles southwest of the old hospital and was named the Rush–Copley Medical Center. His adopted sons James S. and William went on to notable careers in business and art, respectively.

Biography Ira Clifton Copley was born on October 25, 1864, in Copley Township, Knox County, Illinois, south of Altona. He was the son of Ellen Madeleine (née Whiting) and farmer Ira Birdsall Copley, for whom the township was named. At the age of two, Copley contracted scarlet fever, prompting his family to move east to Aurora, Illinois to see an eye specialist. Copley regained his sight around the age of six, though he struggled with vision problems for the rest of his life. In the meantime, his father became a prominent Aurora citizen, managing the Aurora Gas Light Company. Copley graduated from high school in 1881, then attended Jennings Seminary. Graduating in 1883, he then matriculated at Yale College, where he graduated in 1887. He then studied law for two years at the Union College of Law, but dropped out before graduating.

By this time, his father's gas company was struggling. Although he had recently been admitted to the bar in Illinois, Copley decided to return to Aurora to assume management. Copley shifted the focus of the company from illumination to selling gas as a fuel. The company saw great success and Copley used the profits to purchase competing gas companies. In 1905, he merged his companies into the Western United Gas & Electric Company. Copley would continue to expand the operation for the next twenty years. In 1914, he organized a coal and coke company, then consolidated the two organizations in the Western Utility Corporation in 1921. He sold his interest in the company to investment firms Rollins & Sons and Fitkin & Co. in 1926.

Despite political independence in his papers, Copley led an active political life. In 1894, he was named a member of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, the state Republican Party organization, where he served for four years. He was the organization's Chairman of the Finance Committee for two of those years. He was also elected President of the Illinois League of Republican Clubs in 1896, declining re-election in 1898. In 1910, he campaigned for Howard M. Snapp's former seat in Illinois's 11th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives. He successfully defeated his Democratic opponent. He was re-elected two years later. In 1914, Copley aligned with Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive (Bull Moose) Party and was one of five Representatives elected from the party. With the party disintegrating by the end of his term, Copley, returned to the Republican Party in 1916. He represented his district until 1922, when he was defeated in a primary election by Frank R. Reid. The two papers were merged in 1974 into The State Journal-Register.

In 1928, Copley consolidated the San Diego Union and San Diego Tribune into The San Diego Union-Tribune. Later that year, Senator George W. Norris accused Copley Press of receiving money from public utility companies. Copley initially denied owning any power company stock, but subsequently, testifying before the Federal Trade Commission in June 1929, disavowed the previous statement and showed that he was in the process of selling the last of $8.8 million in public utility stock he had held.

Personal life Copley married Edith Straker in March 1892. They adopted two sons: James Strohn, who became president of Copley Press in 1947, and William Nelson, who became a prominent artist. Edith died in 1929; in 1931, Copley married Chloe (née Warley) Davidson. His former residence in Aurora, the Col. Ira C. Copley Mansion, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.