Peter Cooper (1791–1883) businessman, inventor, and manufacturer

Cooper was born in New York City to a family that had resided in the area since the mid-17th century. He had little formal education and went to work at an early age with his father making hats. He then tried his hand at various other endeavors such as brewing and brick making before turning to the cloth business. After opening a shop for making cloth and prospering during the War of 1812, he turned his attention to furniture making and then the grocery business. Using his earnings, he invested in a glass manufacturing business before finally opening the Canton Iron Works in Baltimore in 1828. But it was his experience with the Baltimore & Ohio Railway that was to make him his fortune and fame.

The railroad crossed his property, and Cooper became interested in steam locomotion. As a result of the proximity and his interests in steam, Cooper designed the first steam locomotive built in the United States for the Baltimore & Ohio, nicknamed the “Tom Thumb.” Another similar engine was called the “Teakettle.” The small engine proved to be only a prototype but earned him a reputation nevertheless. He then sold his Baltimore operations for several times what he paid for them and opened iron mills in New York and New Jersey.

In 1856, the Bessemer process was first attempted in the United States at his plant in Trenton, New Jersey. Other foundries followed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also became involved with Cyrus Field in laying the first transatlantic cable and became president of the New York, Newfoundland & London Telegraph Co. Later, he became president of the North American Telegraph Co., which controlled more than half the telegraph lines in the country.

Cooper was also an inventor who invented washing machines and ferry boats that were propelled by compressed air. He was active politically and supported emancipation. He served as an alderman in New York City and advocated full-time, paid fire and police departments for the city, as well as public schools. In New York, he is best remembered for establishing Cooper Union, a well-known college devoted to engineering and science, offering free tuition to successful applicants.

He was also the presidential candidate of the Greenback Party after the Civil War in 1876 but received less than 1 percent of the votes cast. He died in New York City in 1883. Only one of his six children, Edward, survived until adulthood. Edward was a partner with his father in some business ventures and also active politically in New York City.

See also FIELD, CYRUS W.; RAILROADS.

Further reading

• Nevins, Alan. Abram S. Hewitt with Some Account of Peter Cooper. New York: Harper & Bros., 1935. 
• Raymond, Rossiter W. Peter Cooper. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1901.