Peter Cooper: His Faith Carried Him to Success

Peter Cooper is an American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist. Along with two friends, Cooper founded the Canton Iron Works in 1829. Canton assembled the Tom Thumb, one of the earliest versions of locomotives in the US. Canton almost went bankrupt at one point but Cooper’s experience working with Baltimore and Ohio RR helped him save Canton from collapse.

In the next two decades, Cooper’s holdings began to expand. He became one of the leading entrepreneurs in the iron industry. He received the Bessemer gold medal in 1870 for being the first to use iron to erect a fire proof building. Several patents for processes and devices can be credited to Cooper.

But Cooper’s greatest contribution was his unwavering faith in Atlantic cable industry. When local banks refused to fund the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, Cooper was forced to place heavy investments. Cooper made an excellent decision and became the company’s president for two decades. He also led the North American Telegraph Company which controlled half of the telegraph lines in the US.

As a philanthropist, Cooper was active in civic affairs in New York City. He helped sustain the public schools and contributed much to improve a few municipal departments. He established the Cooper Union which provided education to local residents of New York.