J. Arthur Cooper

Jed Arthur Cooper (January 22, 1933 – February 5, 2025) was an American academic and politician from the state of Utah. He served as a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961. At the time, he was the youngest member on record of the Utah State Legislature, having been elected at the minimum required age of 25. He authored the legislation that officially designated the beehive as the state emblem and industry as the state motto, officially designating two traditional state symbols. He opposed legislation to reverse Utah's status as a right-to-work state, and advocated for a Glen Canyon access road.

Cooper served on the education faculty, first at the University of Arizona from 1964 to 1966, then at the University of North Texas from 1966 to 1998. In 1970, he went abroad, and taught at Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua in Panama City for 20 months. He also served on the school board of the Argyle Independent School District for ten years. He authored an article in the journal of the National Education Association, encouraging educators to be more politically active, which was placed in the Congressional Record on April 4, 1967, by Senator Wayne Morse. He served as president of the Southwestern Philosophy of Education Society from 1971 to 1972.

After retiring, he moved back to Panguitch, where he would serve on the city council and won a four-year term as mayor in 2005. He died in St. George, Utah, on February 5, 2025, at the age of 92.