Edward Coles | |
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| 2nd Governor of Illinois | |
| In office December 5, 1822 – December 6, 1826 | |
| Lieutenant | Adolphus F. Hubbard |
| Preceded by | Shadrach Bond |
| Succeeded by | Ninian Edwards |
| Private Secretary to the President | |
| In office January 1810 – March 1815 | |
| President | James Madison |
| Preceded by | Isaac Coles |
| Succeeded by | James Payne Todd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 15, 1786 Albemarle County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | July 7, 1868 (aged 81) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Sally Logan Roberts (1809 to 1883) |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary |
| Signature |  |
Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American abolitionist and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, as well as, secretary to President James Madison from 1810 to 1815.
An anti-slavery advocate throughout his adult life, Coles inherited a plantation and slaves but eventually left Virginia for the Illinois Territory to set his slaves free. He manumitted 19 slaves in 1819 and acquired land for them. In Illinois, he first participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in the new state, and then two years later at his inauguration as Governor, he called for the end of slavery in Illinois altogether, which was later achieved. Coles corresponded with and advised both Jefferson and Madison to free their slaves, and publicly supported abolition. In his final years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he helped shaped early historians' views of the presidents' republican ideals.