INVENTOR

Peter Cooper

1791 - 1883

Photo of Peter Cooper

Icon of person Peter Cooper

Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791 – April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb, founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, served as its first president, and stood for election as the Greenback Party's candidate in the 1876 presidential election. Cooper began tinkering at a young age while working in various positions in New York City. He purchased a glue factory in 1821 and used that factory's profits to found the Canton Iron Works, where he earned even larger profits by assembling the Tom Thumb. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Peter Cooper is the 146th most popular inventor (up from 401st in 2019), the 2,315th most popular biography from United States (up from 10,597th in 2019) and the 41st most popular American Inventor.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Peter Cooper by language

Loading...

Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Peter Cooper ranks 146 out of 426Before him are Jean-Pierre Blanchard, Taiichi Ohno, Louis Le Prince, Cornelis Drebbel, John Kay, and Robert Stirling. After him are Siegfried Marcus, Richard Jordan Gatling, Robert Cailliau, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, Henri Giffard, and Mary Anderson.

Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1791, Peter Cooper ranks 18Before him are Johann Franz Encke, Franz Grillparzer, Eugène Scribe, Robert Knox, István Széchenyi, and Félix Savart. After him are Friedrich Parrot, Alexandros Mavrokordatos, Minh Mạng, George Peacock, Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, and Ferdinand Hérold. Among people deceased in 1883, Peter Cooper ranks 24Before him are Édouard Roche, Ranavalona II, Prince Charles of Prussia, Sojourner Truth, Pierre Auguste Cot, and Alexander Gorchakov. After him are Friedrich von Flotow, Hendrik Conscience, Franz Doppler, Wilhelm Peters, Tự Đức, and Édouard René de Laboulaye.

Others Born in 1791

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1883

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Peter Cooper ranks 2,315 out of 20,380Before him are Phil Jackson (1945), Arthur Blake (1872), Raoul Walsh (1887), Craig T. Nelson (1944), Helen Frankenthaler (1928), and Richard Avedon (1923). After him are Bridget Fonda (1964), Armand Assante (1949), Liv Tyler (1977), Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), Joey Ramone (1951), and Charles Duke (1935).

Among INVENTORS In United States

Among inventors born in United States, Peter Cooper ranks 41Before him are Robert Noyce (1927), George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859), Christopher C. Kraft Jr. (1924), Percy Spencer (1894), Elisha Gray (1835), and Elias Howe (1819). After him are Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), Mary Anderson (1862), Robert Moog (1934), Christopher Latham Sholes (1819), Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890), and Elizabeth Holmes (1984).