William Cooper (1822 – 31 October 1868) was an English

co-operator A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperative ...

, and a founding member of the

Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumers' co-operative, and one of the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement. Although other co-operatives preceded it, ...

. Cooper played a leading role in promoting the success of the Rochdale Pioneers through written correspondence, speeches, and newspaper pieces. He believed the co-operative movement should extend beyond retail trade and he played a role in establishing the Rochdale District Co-operative Corn Mill Society in 1850, the Rochdale Co-operative Manufacturing Society in 1854, the North of England Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1863, and the

Co-operative Insurance Society Co-op Insurance is the trading name of CIS General Insurance, a general insurance company, which is part of the Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-op Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary incorporated in 2017, is ...

in 1867.

Biography

Cooper was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

in 1822 to a weaver, James Cooper, and Susan ( née Taylor). He became a

fustian Fustian is a variety of heavy cloth woven from cotton, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used figuratively to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, from at least the time of Shakespeare. This literary use is beca ...

cutter by trade, then a weaver, and joined the Owenite movement in the early 1840s. Alongside co-operatives, he remained committed throughout his adult life to

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

, the extension of the vote, and the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. In 1844 he married Betty Smith, with whom he went on to have six children. Following a strike the same year he became a founding member of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers and by the end of the year he began work as the society's first cashier, and in 1849 was appointed secretary. Cooper took part in efforts with E.V. Neale to lobby parliament to amend the

Industrial and Provident Societies Partnership Act 1852 The Industrial and Provident Societies Partnership Act 1852, also known (somewhat unjustifiably) as Slaney's Act, was a significant legislative landmark in the establishment of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom. Background Prior to 1 ...

to enable co-operatives to establish a

co-operative wholesale society A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economi ...

. Cooper was also secretary to the Co-operative Congress Board. In 1860 he authored the pamphlet ''History of the Rochdale District Co-operative Corn Mill Society''. He died on 31 October 1868 from

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

at the age of 46 and was buried in Rochdale Cemetery. Upon his death

George Holyoake George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist, co-operator and newspaper editor. He coined the terms secularism in 1851 and " jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, the ''Reasoner'', from 1846 to J ...

praised Cooper for his unrelenting commitment to co-operation and the "drudgery" of his work promoting the movement.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, William British cooperative organizers 1822 births 1868 deaths People from Rochdale Owenites British weavers English socialites Rochdale Pioneers