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He was born in New York City, the son of Dutch descendents. He had little formal schooling and worked in the family trade of hatmaking. He then worked as a coachmaker's apprentice, cabinet maker, grocer and was involved in the manufacturingManufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, or intermediate processes involving the production or finishing of semi-manufactures . It is a large branch of industry and of secondary production. Some industries, like s and selling of cloth-shearing machines.
In about 1828Events January 4 The Vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villele as Prime Minister of France. January 22 The Duke of Wellington succeeds Lord Goderich as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He repeals the Test Act, emancipating all Catholics, and he started a successful glue and isinglassIsinglass is a substance obtained from the swim bladders of fish (especially sturgeon) that is used for the clarification of wine and beer. Isinglass finings are used extensively as a processing aid in the British brewing industry to accelerate the fining factory, before building the CantonA canton is: a territorial subdivision of a country (especially cantons of Switzerland and France), see canton (subnational entity) the top inner quarter of a flag, see flag terminology a subordinary in heraldry occupying the (shield holder's) upper right iron works near Baltimore in 1830Events February 3 The previously autonomous state of Greece gains full independence from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence. Negotiations for the borders between the two states continue until 1832, under the supervisio. There he manufactured the first steam powered railroad locomotiveA locomotive is a vehicle that provides the motive power for a railway train. Traditionally, the locomotive or locomotives are positioned at the front of a train, pulling passenger carriages and/or freight vehicles. This requires the locomotive to be move engine made in America, which was called Tom Thumb. The engine ran successfully on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
He then erected a rolling mill and an iron mill in New York City, where he was the first to successfully use anthracite coal to puddle iron. In 1845, he moved his machinery to Trenton, New Jersey where he built the largest rolling-mill in the United States for producing railroad iron. There, in 1854 he oversaw the production of the first structural wrought iron beams.
In 1840 he became an alderman in New York City. As a prosperous businessman, he conceived of the idea of having a free institute in New York, similar to the Polytechnic Institute in Paris. He erected a building and endowed art schools, spending between $600,000 and $700,000, for preparing young men and women of the working classes for business. In 1858 he presened the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art to the City of New York.
In 1854, Cooper was one of five men who met at the house of Cyrus W. Field and formed the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company . He was among those supervising the the laying of the first Transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858.
He patented instant gelatin, which later became better known by the brand name Jello.
Peter Cooper was a strong supporter of the Union cause during the Civil War and an advocate of the government issue of paper money. He was encouraged to run in the 1876 presidential election for the Greenback Party without any hope of being elected. The campaign cost more than $25,000 dollars.