The Lives and Times of Peter Cooper

Peter Cooper "was a practical inventor, a wise businessman, and a good citizen.... He built a workable steam engine--the Tom Thumb...was instrumental in getting an adequate water supply for the city of New York. His was the first use of structural wrought-iron beams...his iron works...were the largest in the country." He built the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, so that people could receive a free education in the arts and engineering, after their working hours.