William Hooper (1817 or 1818 – 25 September 1877) was a British

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

. Hooper set up a factory in 1845 at the old Mitcham Workhouse, on

Mitcham Common Mitcham Common is 182 hectares (460 acres) of common land situated in south London. It is predominantly in the London borough of Merton, with parts straddling the borders of Croydon and Sutton. It is designated a Site of Metropolitan ...

. His first products were rubber goods, mostly for the

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

profession. Experiments were carried out for insulating electric cables using rubber, and he devised a continuous manufacturing process for this. Hooper established

Hooper's Telegraph Works The Hooper's Telegraph Works Ltd was established by William Hooper in 1870 to manufacture and lay submarine communications cable using his patented vulcanized rubber core. Before the company was formed to produce finished submarine cable Hooper had ...

, a limited company based in London's Millwall Docks with a factory on

. The company went into

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

in 1877, with Hooper dying a year later at the age of sixty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, William 1810s births 1877 deaths 19th-century British people 19th-century chemists British chemists