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Article: PETER COOPER'S BIG IDEAS
- Article from:
- Humanities
- Article date:
- September 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Superintendent of Documents Sep/Oct 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"I had naturally a AnacAtor contriving.
IN 1830, PETER COOPER DESIGNED, BUILT, and drove the first steam-powered locomotive to operate a public railroad in the United States - a feat of engineering that helped ensure the future success of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In 1845, he patented a "condensed" gelatin food product that later became the ubiquitous JeIl-O brand fruit dessert. In 1852, he challenged workers at his Trenton Iron Company to come up with a new kind of structural beam that could be used in largescale construction projects. Beams produced at his ironworks soon found their way into the Assay Offices in New York, the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, and the Capitol dome in ...