Peter Cooper
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Peter Cooper 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 Advance
Cooper, c. 1870s
Caricature of Peter Cooper by Thomas Nast, depicting Cooper as a cooper.
Steel rocking chair designed by Peter Cooper in the 1830s
1879 Puck cartoon shows Cooper spanking his son Mayor Edward Cooper.
Tom Thumb (locomotive)
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Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. It was designed and constructed by Peter Cooper in 1829 to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimor
Peter Cooper
…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…
A 1927 replica of Tom Thumb, the first American-built steam locomotive
Locomotives sought by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 1831
The Tom Thumb replica in action.
1831 drawing of a locomotive (likely the Tom Thumb) in Baltimore.