Courtney Ryley Cooper nació el 31 de octubre de 1886 en Kansas City, Missouri, Estados Unidos. Murió el 29 de septiembre de 1940 en Nueva York, Nueva York, EE.UU..
Exhaustion from overwork and depression over his failure to convince the FBI to investigate evidence of a Nazi fifth column movement he believed he uncovered in Mexico, are thought to have led to his suicide. An unsigned note found on a dresser in his hotel room said, "In my clothes is $43 in cash. I think my bill is about $32. Give the hotel $32".
