On February 12, 2012, Friends of Cooper Union organized a visit to Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn to pay respects to Peter Cooper on his 221st Birthday. Cooper, his wife, children and their families are also buried there on a private grassy mound, on a small traffic island. Much chiseling was needed to carve these beautiful words that describe Cooper’s contributions to society. Here’s what was written, taking up multiple sides of this gravestone monument:
PETER COOPER
PATRIOT. PHILANTHROPIST. SAGE
PIONEER UNDER THE FREE
INSTITUTIONS OF A NEW NATION IN WORKS OF
INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE
AND OF FAR SIGHTED BENEVELENCE.
FOUNDER OF THE COOPER UNION
FOR THE ADVANCEMENT
OF SCIENCE AND ART, WHICH HE
CONCEIVED WHEN A POOR
APPRENTICE AND REALIZED
AFTER MANY YEARS OF
SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION
THUS BECOMING THE FIRST
IN AMERICA PERSONALLY
TO ADMINSTER LARGE PRIVATE
FORTUNE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.