Name - Stuart Edward Cobb
Party - GOP
State - Gulf Coast/Florida
District - 9 (Orlando)

DOB - 8/20/1930, Annapolis, MD

Bio -

Stuart was born to Grant and Olivia Cobb. His father was a career naval officer and an Annapolis graduate who served several tours at sea during World War I. His father had great interest in naval aviation and had been an officer at the Norfolk Navy Yard when USS Langley was converted into the Navy's first aircraft carrier in 1920. After a tour on the Langley, the senior Cobb was posted to the Naval War College and then to the U.S. Naval Academy. Stuart was born in 1930 during his father's time at Annapolis and named after his mother's distant relative, Jeb Stuart, late of the Confederate Army. While born in Annapolis, Cobb identified with his parents' native South Carolina as his home state. It was for this reason that he chose to attend, The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina for his undergraduate work, graduating with an engineering degree. Because of his father's interest in aviation, Stuart grew up wanting to fly planes. Upon graduation, Cobb was commissioned into the relatively new United States Air Force. Cobb spent the Korean War stateside helping to develop the F-104 Starfighter, which he later trained to fly. The Air Force sent Cobb for a master's degree in engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, after which he was assigned to NASA as an engineer and pilot. Cobb spent most of the 1960s with NASA, but with the success of Apollo 11, sought a transfer to a combat unit bound for Vietnam. However, the withdrawal of the F-104 from combat service in Vietnam resulted in Cobb remaining with NASA, where he piloted the F-104 as one of NASA's test aircraft. Having now lived in Central Florida for much of his career, Cobb retired from the Air Force and NASA with the ending of the Apollo Program in 1975. Upon retirement, Cobb moved inland to Orlando and accepted a position at aerospace giant Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin). Cobb began work on his Ph.D. at Florida Tech, now the University of Central Florida, and was granted his doctorate in 1978. He stayed at Martin Marietta until 1985 when he accepted a teaching position at UCF. In 1988, Cobb ran to represent Winter Park in the state legislature. With Tampa mayor Bob Martinez' victory in the race for Governor, Cobb easily defeated his Democratic opponent for the State House. At this time, the Florida House was considered the more moderate and more seasoned of the two chambers, and Cobb fit in well as a pragmatic centrist. In 1992, long time Orlando Republican Lou Frey retired from representing the 9th District, and Cobb successfully carried the seat. Despite the hard life at the Citadel that often molded staunch conservatives, Cobb remained largely a future looking progressive dreaming of the future of aircraft and later space travel. This outlook often permeates his political views.

Education -

B.S. in Engineering, The Citadel, 1952
M.S. in Engineering, Georgia Tech, 1960
Ph.D. in Engineering, Florida Technological University (UCF), 1978

Military Service -

United States Air Force, 1952-1975; retired at rank of Colonel

Professional Experience -

United States Air Force, 1952-1975; National Aeronautic and Space Administration, 1960-1975
Martin Marietta Corp. (Lockheed Martin), 1975-1985
University of Central Florida, Professor of Engineering, 1985-present

Political Experience -

Florida House of Representatives, 1988-1992
U.S. House of Representatives, 1992-present

Some day...some day, Cobb will return to us.

Citadel!!