David Caleb Cook

1850-1927. American Sunday school leader and publisher. Born in East Worcester, New York, he gained a lasting impression from his first contact with a Sunday school teacher in Wheaton, Illinois. He entered business in Chicago as a sewing-machine salesman and later developed a thriving mail-order business. Involvement in several Sunday schools led him to give up business and dedicate himself to the Sunday school, particularly in the field of publications. In 1882 rapid expansion obliged his publishing house to move to nearby Elgin, where it still is. While recuperating from a nervous breakdown, Cook built up a flourishing estate in California, but sold out to return to Illinois and his beloved Sunday school work, to which he made valuable contributions.