Samuel Hooper | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts | |
| In office December 2, 1861 – February 14, 1875 | |
| Preceded by | William Appleton |
| Succeeded by | Rufus S. Frost |
| Constituency | 5th district (1861–63) 4th district (1863–75) |
| Member of theMassachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1858 | |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1851–1853 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1808-02-03)February 3, 1808 |
| Died | February 14, 1875(1875-02-14) (aged 67) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Samuel Hooper (February 3, 1808 – February 14, 1875) was a businessman andmember of Congress fromMassachusetts.
Hooper was born inMarblehead, Massachusetts. His father, Robert Hooper, was a shipping merchant and later served as president of the Grand Bank of Marblehead.[1] After a common school education, Hooper traveled aboard his father's shipping vessels assupercargo. He is known to have visited Cuba, Russia, and Spain.[2]
In 1832 Hooper married Ann Sturgis, daughter ofWilliam Sturgis, and he became a junior partner in the Boston firm of Bryant and Sturgis, merchants in theCalifornia hide trade, trade with thePacific Northwest, and trade withChina.
In 1841, Hooper partnered withcounting house owner and merchant shipperWilliam Appleton to form William Appleton and Company. Soon the firm was engaged in the California hide trade, trade with the Pacific Northwest, and trade with China. The firm acquired additional partners in 1851 when Appleton joined the Massachusetts congressional delegation.[3]
In 1859, Appleton retired from William Appleton and Company. Hooper reorganized the firm with partner Franklin Gordon Dexter, and they adopted the name Samuel Hooper and Company. The firm continued operations after Hooper's death.[3]
Hooper was elected to theMassachusetts House of Representatives, serving from 1851 to 1853. He later served in theMassachusetts Senate in 1858.
Upon the resignation of his friend and former partner,CongressmanWilliam Appleton from theUnited States House of Representatives, Hooper was elected to fill the seat, representingMassachusetts's fifth district in the37th Congress.
He was reelected to the following six congresses representingMassachusetts's fourth district and served as chairman of theCommittee on Ways and Means 1869 to 1871, of theCommittee on Banking and Currency from 1871 to 1873 and of theCommittee on Coinage, Weights and Measures from 1871 to 1875.
From 1861 to 1862, his home in Washington D.C. was the headquarters of GeneralGeorge B. McClellan. In 1866, he was a delegate to the Philadelphia Loyalists' Convention.
He turned down reelection to the44th Congress and died less than a month before completion of his final term.[4] He was interred inOak Hill Cemetery in 1875.
Hooper was briefly the father-in-law ofCharles Sumner, a powerful senator from Massachusetts. Sumner had married Hooper's widowed daughter-in law, Alice Mason Hooper, but they divorced after a short marriage.
In 1865 Hooper founded theHooper School of Mining and Practical Geology atHarvard University with an endowment of$50,000. The gift also established theSturgis Hooper Professorship in Geology. Named in honor of Hooper's deceased son Sturgis, the professorship received an additional endowment of $30,000 (~$836,533 in 2024) from Hooper's widow in 1881.[5] The city ofHooper, Nebraska, is named after him.[6][7]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) A1925 edition is available for download atUniversity of Nebraska—Lincoln Digital Commons.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 5th congressional district 1861–1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 4th congressional district 1863–1875 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Ways and Means Committee 1871 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Banking Committee 1871–1872 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Coinage Committee 1872–1875 | Succeeded by |
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