Inventor's Name: Peter Cooper

Date of Birth: February 12, 1791

Date of death: February 12, 1871

Invention: The dessert jell-o

5 Interesting Facts: Cooper had a number of patents and inventions to his credit. Builder and inventor of the famous "Tom Thumb" prototype locomotive, which was used to demonstrate the potential of steam-powered rail transport to leaders of the American transportation industry, he also obtained the very first American patent for the manufacture of gelatin (1845). He subsequently established a number of other patents for its manufacture and established manufacturing standards for its production. Some time later (1895), Pearl B. Wait, a cough syrup manufacturer, bought the patent from Peter Cooper and adapted Cooper's gelatin dessert into an entirely prepackaged form, which his wife, May David Wait, named "Jell-O." The rest is history...