Sir Francis D'Arcy Cooper, 1st Baronet (17 November 1882 – 18 December 1941) was a British businessman and accountant. He was chairman of

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

and

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

Early life and education

Cooper was born in

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...

, the son of chartered accountant Francis Cooper and Ada Frances Power. He was educated privately and at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

Career

After a year abroad in Paris, Cooper returned home in 1899 to join the family accounting firm, Cooper Brothers and Co. The firm served as auditors of

from the company's founding in 1885. In 1910, Cooper was made a partner in the family firm. After the start of the First World War, Cooper enlisted in the Yeomanry in early 1915, and within three months was gazetted to a commission in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

. He was wounded in August 1916 during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

and spent a year recovering in the hospital. He spent the remainder of the war employed by the War Office. In January 1919, he returned to the family firm. In 1923, he was elected to the board of Lever Brothers as joint vice-chairman. He succeeded company founder

William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , (, ; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Having been educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church schools ...

as chairman on 15 May 1925 after his death. Cooper served as a member of the Prime Minister's Industrial Advisory Panel on Rearmament prior to the Second World War. Since the beginning of the war to his death, he served on the Board of Trade. In the

1941 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1941 were appointments in the British Empire of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of various countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birt ...

, he was created a baronet, of Singleton. Through his international business dealings, he was also a Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Belgium The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II in his c ...

and a Knight of the First Class of the Order of St. Olav of Norway.

Personal life

In 1913, he married Evelyn Hilda Mary Radford. In 1939, he suffered from a serious illness and never recovered his former health, though he continued to work. He died aged 59 in West Ridge,

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. With no sons, the baronetcy became extinct upon his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Darcy 1882 births 1941 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire British accountants Order of Saint Olav Knights of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)