373 



COOKE, GEORGE FREDERICK. 



COOPER, SIR ASTLEY. 



874 



professor and the master of some of the deservedly celebrated 

 musicians of the last and present age. 



COOKE, GEORGE FREDERICK, a popular actor, was born in the 

 city of Westminster, April 17, 1755. He was the son of an officer in 

 the army, whose widow, on the death of her husbaud, weut to reside 

 at Berwick-upon-Tweed, where George was educated. At the usual 

 age he was articled to a printer ; but having imbibed a strong passion 

 for the stage, he appeared, after various essays iu private, as a pro- 

 leased actor at Brentford, in the character of Dumont in the tragedy 

 of ' Jaue Shore.' In 1778 he made his debut in London, at the Hay- 

 inarket theatre, for a benefit, but without attracting any particular 

 attention. After a period of two-and-twenty years, during which he 

 became the hero of the Dublin stage, he returned to London, and 

 made his first appearance at Covent Garden theatre, October 31, 1800, 

 in the character of Richard III : his success was decided ; and for ten 

 years he divided the favour of the town with John Kemble. In 1810 

 he sailed for America, and arrived at New York on the 16th of 

 November, in which city, intemperance having been long undermining 

 a wonderfully strong constitution, he expired on the 26th of September 

 1812. His most popular characters were, in tragedy, Richard III., 

 lago, and Shylock ; and in comedy, Kitely, Sir Archy Macsarcasm, 

 and Sir Ptrtiuax Macsycophant. Mr. Kean, in one of his visits to 

 America, caused a monument to be erected over his grave. His 

 memoirs were published by his friend Mr. Dunlop from a manuscript 

 journal kept by Mr. Cooke for many years, and other equally authentic 

 document.", in 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1813. 



COOLEY, THOMAS, an Irish architect, born in 1740, erected wh:it 

 is not only one of t.ie most elegant public buildings in Dublin, but 

 of its kiinl anywhere, the Royal Exchange in that city. This structure 

 was biguu by him in 17C9, and although of but moderate size, is in 

 a style at once noble and ornate : on the exterior, a Corinthian order 

 is continued in columns and pilasters, between which there is only a 

 single range of upper windows, the lower part of the intercolumns 

 being filled in with solid rusticated wall, a circumstance that contri- 

 butes materially to character ; nor is the interior less remarkable for 

 both elegance and commodiousness of plan, it being a rotunda inscribed 

 within a square tne circular part formed by a peristyle of twelve 

 columns of the composite order, and covered by a dome. This building 

 is however no longer employed for the purpose for which it was 

 designed. Having been, we believe, found too small for the increased 

 commercial requirements of the city, it waa some few years back 

 abandoned by the merchants, and converted into a mechanics insti- 

 tution ; and its architectural character has necessarily undergone some 

 modification. Our description applies to its original condition. Cooley 

 also erected the prison called Newgate (1773) in the same city, and 

 commenced the noble pile of the ' Four Courts,' which was begun by 

 him iu 1770, but he did not live to complete it, little more than the 

 west wing being erected at the time of his death in 1784 ; after which 

 the edifice was carried on by Gandon [GABOON, JAMES], with some 

 variations from the original design. 



COOPER, ANTHONY ASHLEY. [SHAFTESBURY, EARL OF.] 



COOPER, SIR ASTLEY, was born in the village of Brooke in 

 Norfolk, where his father, Dr. Cooper, was curate. His mother was 

 a popular authoress in her day, and published several novels and other 

 literary productions, the object of which was to elevate and dignify 

 the position of woman in society. Astley Cooper was born on the 

 23rd of August 1768, and was the fourth son. As a boy he was 

 remarkable rather for his liveliness and good-humour than for appli- 

 cation to study ; but the following incident determined his choice of 

 surgery as a profession : A youth bad fallen down in front of a cart, 

 one wheel of which parsed over his thigh, lacerating it und wounding 

 the femoral artery. No surgeon was near, and the boy was in danger 

 of dying from loss of blood, when young Astley Cooper bound his 

 handkerchief sufficiently tight over the upper part ot the thigh to 

 prevent circulation in the artery, and thus stopped the bleeding till 

 a surgeon arrived. 



When in his thirteenth year his father was presented with the living 

 of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, to which place he immediately removed. 

 In August 1781 young Cooper left home for London. His uncle, 

 William Cooper, who was then a surgeon at Guy's Hospital, not being 

 able to receive him into his house, he was placed with Mr. Cline, who 

 was at that time surgeon to St. Thomas's Hospital, and one of the 

 most distinguished surgeons of his day. To his connection with Mr. 

 Cline, and the influence of his example, Sir Astley attributed much 

 of his success in after-life. 



In Loudoo he began to devote himself with earnestness to big new 

 pursuit, lie early perceived the importance of correct anatomical 

 knowledge to the study of surgery, and made such advances by an 

 habitual attendance iu the dissecting-room, as to lead others to consult 

 Ki'ii in tli i r difficulties. He also at this time attended the lectures of 

 John Hunter, and was one of the few who comprehended the real 

 value of this great man's theories and experiments. In 177 he visited 

 mrgh, and on his return was made demonstrator of anatomy at 

 St. Thomas's Hospital. This led to his being iu 1791 permitted to 

 take part of the lectures on anatomy and surgery, which were then 

 delivered together, with Mr. Cline. He wax married in the same 

 year, and after the close of th'; winter session paid a visit to Paris in 

 1792, where he was on the breaking out of the Revolution on the 



10th of August. In the next course of lectures which he gave he 

 lectured on surgery alone, and this was one of the first courses in 

 London given -on that subject independent of anatomy. It was per- 

 fectly successful. He was also this year appointed professor of anatomy 

 at Surgeon's Hall, and was re-appointed in 1794 and 1795. 



The earliest of Sir Astley Cooper's literary productions appeared in 

 a volume of papers entitled ' Medical Records and Researches,' which 

 was published in 1798. In these essays, the caution in collecting 

 facts, and fearlessness in coming to conclusions when his facts were 

 sufficient, which characterised him through life, are evident. Up to 

 this time, although his reputation was increasing, his income was 

 small. From the time he first commenced, he says, "My receipt for 

 the first year was 51. 5s.; the second, 26i. ; the third, 64/. ; the fourth, 

 961. ; the fifth, 1001. ; the sixth, 200?. ; the seventh, iOOl. ; the ei-hth, 

 S\0l." On the death of his uncle in 1800 he was appointed to the 

 office of surgeon at Guy's Hospital, but not without some difficulty, 

 on account of his having been intimate with Home Tooke atid 

 Thelwall, and others who held the same political opinions : a con- 

 venient change of politics however removed the difficulty, and ho 

 received the appointment. In this and the following year he read 

 two papers before the Royal Society, ' On the effects which take place 

 from the destruction of the mernbrana tympani, with an account of 

 an operation for the removal of a particular species of deafness.' 

 Although the operation here proposed was apparently successful, its 

 benefits seemed to be only transient, and the practice of it was 

 abandoned. For these papers the author had awarded to him the 

 Copleian medal of the Royal Society for 1802. In 1805 he was 

 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In the same year he took au 

 active part in the formation of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, which 

 originated in some disagreement which took place in the London 

 Medical Society. After some trouble the members of the Medico- 

 Chirurgical Society obtained a royal charter, and it now takes the first 

 position amongst the medical debating societies of London. In the 

 first volume of the * Transactions ' of this Society is recorded a case o f 

 carotid aneurism, in which the artery was tied by Mr. Cooper. 

 Although the case terminated unfavourably, the merit is due to him 

 of having first attempted this operation, which has been successful iu 

 the hands of many subsequent operators. 



In 1804 he brought out the first part, and in 1807 the second part, 

 of his great work on ' Hernia.' At the time he first undertook inquiry 

 into this subject, not only was the anatomy of the disease ill under- 

 stood, but the operation for its relief was frequently unsuccessful. 

 This work was published in atlas folio, and got up in an unnecessarily 

 expensive style. Most of the illustrations were of the size of life. 

 When the whole was sold, he was a loser of one thousand pounds by 

 the work. It however added greatly to his increasing reputation, and 

 in a few years after this (1813) his annual income from his profession 

 amounted to twenty-one thousand pounds. This income is probably 

 the largest ever received by a medical practitioner. 



During the constant occupation which an enormous practice, 

 besides his hospital duties and lectures gave him, he founil time to 

 pursue his favourite science of anatomy. He had a private dissecting- 

 room over his stables, and here he employed dissectors, artists, and 

 modellers, being present himself every morning by six o'clock to 

 superintend and direct them for the day. In 1813 he was appointed 

 professor of comparative anatomy to the College of Surgeons. During 

 this year he removed from the City to the West End, not only 

 with the view of cultivating his interest with those about court, 

 but also for the purpose of avoiding the enormous practice of the 

 City. 



In 1817 he performed one of his most remarkable operations, that 

 of tyini; the aorta. Although not successful, it is undoubtedly the 

 boldest attempt in the annals of surgery. If any circumstances wouM 

 have justified it, they were those in which Cooper operated. It has 

 been attempted since without success. In 1818, in conjunction with 

 his former pupil and colleague, Mr. Travers, he commenced publishing 

 a series of surgical essays ; but the plan was abandoned after two parts 

 of the work had appeared. In 1820 Cooper was called in to attend ou 

 George IV., although he held no official position at court. Shortly 

 after this he removed a steatomatous tumour from the head of the 

 king. Si* months after this the king offered him a baronetcy, which 

 was accepted on the condition that, as he had no son, the title should 

 descend to his adopted son and nephew Astley Cooper. 



In 1822 Sir Astley Cooper was elected one of the Court of Examiners 

 of the College of Surgeons, and the same year he brought out his great 

 work on ' Dislocations and Fractures.' This work was characterised 

 by the same diligence of research, and it was got up in the same style 

 as his work ou 'Hernia,' and, like that work, threw great light on 

 many obscure points on the anatomy of the subjects it treated of, as 

 well as suggested improved methods of treatment. 



In 1827 Sir Astley Cooper was elected President of the College of 

 Surgeons, an honour which he again received in 1836. In 1827 he 

 lost his wife, and the grief which this occasioned, added to previous 

 indications of ill-health, determined him to resign practice and retire 

 to his estate at Gadesbridge. Here he lived only a short time, and 

 returned the following year to his practice in London. He had how- 

 ever previously resigned his lectureship at St. Thomas's, which he 

 did not resume. In 1828 he was married a second time, and iu the 



