William Fothergill Cooke | |
|---|---|
 William Fothergill Cooke | |
| Born | 4 May 1806 Ealing, England |
| Died | 25 June 1879 (aged 73) Farnham, England |
| Known for | Electrical telegraph |
| Awards | Albert Medal (1867) |
Sir William Fothergill Cooke (4 May 1806 – 25 June 1879) was an English inventor. He was, with Charles Wheatstone, the co-inventor of the Cooke-Wheatstone electrical telegraph, which was patented in May 1837. Together with John Ricardo he founded the Electric Telegraph Company, the world's first public telegraph company, in 1846. He was knighted in 1869.