| Robert Archer Cooper | |
| Office: | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico |
| Term: | January 29, 1934 - 1947 |
| Appointer: | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Predecessor: | Ira K. Wells |
| Successor: | David Chávez |
| Order1: | 93rd Governor of South Carolina |
| Lieutenant1: | Junius T. Liles Wilson Godfrey Harvey |
| Term Start1: | January 21, 1919 |
| Term End1: | May 20, 1922 |
| Predecessor1: | Richard Irvine Manning III |
| Successor1: | Wilson Godfrey Harvey |
| Office2: | Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Laurens County |
| Term2: | January 8, 1901 - January 10, 1905 |
| Birth Name: | Robert Archer Cooper |
| Birth Date: | 12 June 1874 |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Alma Mater: | Polytechnic Institute |
| Spouse: | Mamie Eugenia Machen Dorcas Calmes |
| Children: | 2, Elizabeth from his marriage with Mamie Eugenia and Robert from his marriage with Dorcas Calmes. |
| Profession: | Lawyer, politician |
Robert Archer Cooper (June 12, 1874August 7, 1953) was the 93rd Governor of South Carolina from January 21, 1919 to May 20, 1922.[1]
Born in Waterloo Township, Laurens County, Cooper graduated with a law degree from Polytechnic Institute in San Germán, Puerto Rico. He was admitted to the bar in 1898 and practiced law in Laurens. In 1900, Cooper was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives until 1904, when he was elected the solicitor of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina.
Cooper entered the gubernatorial election of 1918 and won the general election without opposition to become the 93rd governor of South Carolina. He continued the progressive policies of his predecessor, Richard Irvine Manning III, by establishing a seven-month school term, mandating compulsory school attendance, expanding health care, and improving the state roadways. These initiatives were paid for by stricter enforcement of existing tax laws and re-evaluating state property. Cooper was elected to a second term in 1920.
He resigned from the governorship in 1922 to accept an appointment to the Federal Farm Loan Board that lasted five years. After this, Cooper returned to the practice of law but was called by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to serve as the General Counsel of the Commodity Credit Corporation. Roosevelt later appointed him in 1934 as Judge of the District Court for Puerto Rico, a position Cooper held until 1947. Cooper died on August 7, 1953, and was buried at the Laurens City Cemetery in Laurens.
His house at Laurens is included in the South Harper Historic District and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.