Francis William Coker (November 1, 1878 – May 26, 1963) was an American political scientist and the chairman of the Department of Government at Yale University from 1937 to 1945.
[1] In 1929, Coker left Ohio State to become the Cowles Professor of Government at Yale.
In 1937, he was appointed chairman of the government department at Yale, and held that position until his retirement in 1945.
Coker's students at Yale included Robert Dahl, Miriam Irish, and Dwight Waldo, all of whom cited him as an important influence.
[2] Coker died on May 26, 1963, at his home in Hamden, Connecticut, and was buried in his hometown of Society Hill.