Who was Peter Cooper?

October 26, 3:42 PMColumbia History ExaminerDouglas Steimle

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The last article in this space dealt with the upcoming screening of a documentary about Peter Cooper, the 19th century inventor and entrepreneur. Other than hearing the name in passing in various American History courses in high school and college and in connection with a housing development (Peter Cooper Village)in New York City (my hometown) I didn’t pay that much attention. But I began asking the question; who was Peter Cooper? (photo of Peter Cooper from Unitarian Universalist website)

Peter Cooper (1791-1883) was the original Horatio Alger “rags to riches” hero. Born in New York City, Cooper was apprenticed to a hat maker and as a result invented gelatin, the precursor and raw material of Jell-O. While still in his teens, Cooper also invented the washing machine. As time went on, Cooper also invented a cutting device for lawn mowers, a torpedo boat and in 1830, perhaps his best known invention, the “Tom Thumb”, the first steam locomotive.

Cooper was also instrumental in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable as the president of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company in 1854 and the North American Telegraph Company in 1857. The first cable was laid in 1866.

In 1859 Cooper founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art on the belief that education should be “as free as water and air.” To this day, Cooper Union does not charge for its courses. Cooper Union also was the setting for a major speech in 1860 by Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama spoke at Cooper Union last fall as well.
Cooper also had a hand in founding the Cooper-Limestone Institute in South Carolina. It is known today as Limestone College.

Cooper died in 1883 at the age of 92. He is buried in Brooklyn, New York.

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Source: Unitarian-Universalist website.