Thomas Cooke
- "Thomas Cooke" redirects here. For other uses, see Thomas Cooke (disambiguation).
Thomas Cooke (March 8, 1807 – October 19, 1868) was a British instrument maker.
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Origins
He was the son of a poor shoemaker from Allerthorpe near Pocklington, East Yorkshire. He studied navigation and astronomy with the intention of becoming a sailor, but his mother dissuaded him from that career.
History
In 1829 he moved to York and worked as an assistant schoolmaster. He became interested in making telescopes, encouraged by Professor Phillips of Oxford. In 1837 he established his first optical business in a small shop at 50 Stonegate, York, and later moved to larger premises in Coney Street. He built his first telescope for William Gray. At that time, the excise tax on glass discouraged the making of refracting telescopes, which were usually imported from abroad. Cooke was thus one of the pioneers of making such telescopes in Britain.
Activity
He made more instruments and built his reputation. He was not only an optician but had mechanical abilities as well, and among other things, manufactured turret clocks for church towers. He founded the firm T. Cooke & Sons. In 1855 he moved to bigger premises, the Buckingham Works at Bishophill in York.
Excellence
One of his finest achievements was the construction of the 25 inch 'Newall' refractor for Robert Stirling Newall; sadly, Thomas died before seeing it completed. For some years the Newall was the largest refracting telescope in the world. On Newall's death it was donated to Cambridge University and finally moved in 1959 to Mount Penteli observatory in Greece.
Telescopes in use today
A telescope made by Thomas Cooke is still in daily use at Carter Observatory - The National Observatory of New Zealand, delivering excellent results.
Thomas Cooke was succeeded by his sons, Thomas and Frederick. He is buried in York Cemetery.
See also
External links
obituary
Categories
1807 births | 1868 deaths | Astronomy people