A UT-1901 LLB recipient, Jesse Cottrell also earned the LLB degree from the Chattanooga Law School (1909) and Georgetown Law School (1914). He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1907 to 1909. A newspaperman, he served as Washington newspaper correspondent for several newspapers, among them the Charlotte Observer and Nashville Banner. He served in World War 1 (1917–19), achieving the rank of captain.
In 1921 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Bolivia, a post he held until 1928 when he became managing editor of the Tucson Citizen. Following his death, the ship USS Jesse Cottrell, a Liberty (EC2) ship, hull 2671, launched September 9, 1944, was named for him.