A. J. Cook

Andrea Joy "A. J." Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau in the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. She has also appeared in films such as The Virgin Suicides (1999), Out Cold (2001), and Final Destination 2 (2003).

Early life

Cook was born in Oshawa, Ontario, and spent most of her life growing up in Whitby, where she attended Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute. She has three siblings: Nathan, Paul, and Angela. Cook was declared legally blind in the second grade because of a severe astigmatism, but wore contacts and thick glasses to correct her vision. In 2007 she underwent surgery during which a lens implant corrected the impairment. A dancer from age four, Cook began taking jazz, tap and ballet lessons. She danced competitively for many years, before deciding at the age of 16 that she wanted to try acting. Cook also taught dance when she was younger and has stated that if she hadn't become an actress, she would most likely have set up a small dance studio somewhere. In an interview, she admitted that she still tap dances.

A. J. Cook (trade unionist)

Arthur James Cook (22 November 1883 – 2 November 1931), known as A. J. Cook, was a British trade union leader who was General Secretary of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain from 1924 until 1931, a period that included the 1926 General Strike.

Biography

Early years

A.J. Cook was born to Thomas and Selina Cook in Wookey,Somerset. He spent the early part of his life in the West Country. Cook later described his childhood as a troubled one, which included both a poor relationship with his family as well as a genuine struggle in school.

Political career

As a result, at the age of 18 Cook moved to Porth in South Wales, and later to Merthyr Tydfil, to find work in the coal mines; he was also a lay preacher in the local Baptist chapel. In this mining town Cook first became involved in politics, committing active service to the Independent Labour Party (ILP). He first came to prominence in the Cambrian Coal Dispute in 1910 and went on to active involvement in the Miners' Unofficial Reform Committee which published the famous syndicalist pamphlet 'The Miners' Next Step' in 1912. The pamphlet argued that the left needed to organise from below to gain control of the leadership of the union.

Albert John Cook

Albert John Cook (born in Owosso, Michigan on August 30, 1842; died in Owosso on September 29, 1916) was an entomologist and zoologist.

He spent much of his life in Michigan and graduated from the State Agricultural College, present-day Michigan State University, in 1862. In 1867 he established the Collection of Insects at the College. He also spent many years in California as he taught at Pomona College from 1894 to 1911 and after this headed California's Commission of Horticulture.

He died in his childhood home in 1916.

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