Cooper, Thomas (1805-1892)

English poet and supporter of the democratic movement of Chartism. The Purgatory of Suicides (1845), his longest poem, was written in prison. His two novels, Alderman Ralph and The Family Feud, appeared in 1853 and 1855 under the pseudonym of Adam Hornbook.

He headed the Chartists in his home town of Leicester in 1841, edited the Midland Counties Illuminator, and lectured in the Potteries districts during the riots of 1842. Arrested on a charge of conspiracy and sedition, he was imprisoned in Stafford. After his release he lectured on politics and on Christianity, and wrote an account of his life in 1872.

Cooper has generally been regarded as the model for Charles Kingsley's novel Alton Locke (1850).

Cooper, Thomas (1759-1839)

English-born US social agitator, scientist, and educator. His strong individualism and libertarianism led him to become a defender of states' rights and he promoted the southern view on the tariff, nullification, and slavery. He was one of the first to argue for secession.

He was born in Westminster, England. Trained as a lawyer and doctor, he espoused radical ideas that prevented his advancement in England, so in 1794 he emigrated to the USA. He practised both law and medicine in Pennsylvania. He served as a Luzerne County (Pennsylvania) commissioner 1801-04 and then as a Pennsylvania state judge 1804-11. He was a pamphleteer in support of Thomas Jefferson and attacked the Sedition Law. He turned to teaching chemistry, science and political economy at various institutions. Moving to South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina), he soon became its president 1820-34; he helped open the first state medical school and insane asylum there.