Cooke, SIR WILLIAM FOTHERGILL

Cooke, SIR WILLIAM FOTHERGILL, electrician, born at Ealing in 1806, served in the Indian army from 1826 to 1831, and after studying medicine at Paris and Heidelberg, abandoned this for telegraphy, and in 1837 entered into partnership with Professor Wheatstone. After experiments on various railway lines, they patented the single needle apparatus in 1845. In 1846 Cooke formed a company, which paid £120,000 for the partners' earlier patents. In 1867 Cooke and Wheatstone received the Albert gold medal; Wheatstone was knighted in 1868, and Cooke in 1869. He died 25th June 1879.