Richard Joseph Cooke (1853—1931) was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, elected in 1912.
He also distinguished himself as a pastor, an editor, a theologian, an author, and a university administrator.
He came South at an early age, working as a timekeeper for a railroad construction company for a time.
Richard married Eliza Gettys Fisher April 20, 1881.
Richard was admitted to the Central Tennessee Annual Conference of the M.E.