Jack Ridnour Cole (February 12, 1920, in Lincoln, Nebraska – July 29, 2007, in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota) was an American entrepreneur and businessman who used early computer technology to create "crisscross directories", which are used to sort millions of people by street address.
Jack Cole earned an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Nebraska and went to work for IBM as a sales representative in Dallas.
[citation needed] Directories for other cities soon followed, with Cole drawing on census records, tax rolls and other data to supplement the information in the phone book.
[citation needed] Cole Directories, which now cover about 200 cities, are published in print and digital forms by the MetroGroup Corporation of Lincoln, Nebraska.
[3][4] A widower, Jack Cole died of cancer, aged 87; he was survived by three children, eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a sister.