Thompson Cooper
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Cambridge, England
London, England
Thompson Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 January 1837 Cambridge, England |
| Died | 5 March 1904 London, England |
| Resting place | Norwood Cemetery |
| Notable works | Contributed to Dictionary of National Biography |
Thompson Cooper (8 January 1837 – 5 March 1904) was an English journalist, man of letters, and compiler of reference works. He became a specialist in biographical information, and is noted as the most prolific contributor to the Victorian era Dictionary of National Biography, for which he wrote 1,423 entries[1] (other sources say 1,422)[citation needed]
Thompson Cooper was the son of Charles Henry Cooper, a Cambridge solicitor and antiquarian. Educated privately in Cambridge, Cooper was nominally articled to his father, and joined him in his antiquarian pursuits.[2] He became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries aged 23, and at some point converted to Roman Catholicism.[2]
As a young man, he was a parliamentary reporter, and developed an interest in shorthand. His Parliamentary Short-Hand was published in 1858. Cooper became sub-editor on the Daily Telegraph in 1861, and the paper's parliamentary reporter in 1862. In 1866 he began a long connection with The Times: he was the paper's parliamentary reporter 1866–1886, its summary-writer for the House of Commons 1886–98, and from 1898 its summary-writer for the House of Lords.[2]
