Thomas Cooper | |
|---|---|
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| Born | October 22, 1759  London |
| Died | May 11, 1839 (aged 79) Columbia |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Chemist |
| Employer | |
| Signature | |
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Thomas Cooper (October 22, 1759 – May 11, 1839) was an Anglo-American economist, college president and political philosopher. Cooper was described by Thomas Jefferson as "one of the ablest men in America" and by John Adams as "a learned ingenious scientific and talented madcap." Dumas Malone stated that "modern scientific progress would have been impossible without the freedom of the mind which he championed throughout life."[1] His ideas were taken very seriously in his own time: there were substantial reviews of his writings, and some late eighteenth-century critics of materialism directed their arguments against Cooper, rather than against the better-known Joseph Priestley.
Later in life, Cooper became an ardent and outspoken defender of slavery,[2][3][4][5] and personally owned several slaves.[5]
- ^ Quoted in Cohen, Seymour S. (2000). "Cooper, Thomas (1759-1839), lawyer, chemist, and educator". doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1601956.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Stout, Rebecca (2018). "Thomas Cooper: A Radical Change: From Letters to Lectures". Dickinson and Slavery. Dickinson College. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ "Dickinson & Slavery: A Report to the Community" (PDF). House Divided Project. Dickinson College. August 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ Kilbride, Daniel (1993). "Slavery and Utilitarianism: Thomas Cooper and the Mind of the Old South". The Journal of Southern History. 59 (3): 469–486. doi:10.2307/2210004. JSTOR 2210004. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "Appendix 11: Research Reports on Building Names: Thomas Cooper Library". Presidential Commission on University History. University of South Carolina. July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.