Astræa 8 Dec. 1845, Cooper had it in view to extend the star-maps then in progress at Berlin, so as to include stars of the twelfth or thirteenth magnitude. A detailed acquaintance with ecliptical stars, however, was indispensable for the facilitation of planetary research—Cooper's primary object—and the Berlin maps covered only an equatorial zone of thirty degrees. He accordingly resolved upon the construction of a set of ecliptical star-charts of four times the linear dimensions of the ‘Horæ’ prepared at Berlin. Observations for the purpose were begun in August 1848, and continued until Graham's resignation in June 1860. The results were printed at government expense in four volumes with the title ‘Catalogue of Stars near the Ecliptic observed at Markree’ (Dublin, 1851–6). The approximate places were contained in them of 60,066 stars (epoch 1850) within three degrees of the ecliptic, only 8,965 of which were already known. A list of seventy-seven stars missing from recent catalogues, or lost in the course of the observations, formed an appendix of curious interest. The maps corresponding to this extensive catalogue presented by his daughters after Cooper's death to the university of Cambridge, have hitherto remained unpublished. Nor has a promised fifth volume of star places been forthcoming. For this notable service to astronomy, in which he took a large personal share, Cooper received in 1858 the Cunningham gold medal of the Royal Irish Academy. He had been a member of that body from 1832, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society 2 June 1853. Cooper had observed and sketched Halley's comet in 1835; Mauvais' of 1844 was observed and its orbit calculated by him during a visit to Schloss Weyerburg, near Innsbrück (Astr. Nach. xxii. 131,209). The elements and other data relative to 198 such bodies, gathered from scattered sources during several years, were finally arranged and published by him in a volume headed ‘Cometic Orbits, with copious Notes and Addenda’ (Dublin, 1852). Although partially anticipated by Galle's list of 178 sets of elements appended to the 1847 edition of Olbers's ‘Abhandlung,’ the physical and historical information collected in the notes remained of permanent value, and constituted the work a most useful manual of reference. The preface contains statistics of the distribution in longitude of the perihelia and nodes of both planetary and cometary orbits, showing what seemed more than a chance aggregation in one semicircle. Communications on the same point were presented by him to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1853 (Monthly Notices, xiv. 68), to the Royal Society in 1855 (Proc. vii. 295), and to the British Association in 1858 (Report, ii. 27).
Cooper succeeded to the proprietorship of the Markree estates on the death without issue in 1837 of his uncle, Mr. Joshua Cooper, and was conservative member of parliament for Sligo co. from 1830 to 1841, and again from 1857 to 1859. He was twice married: first to Miss L'Estrange of Moystown, King's County, who survived but a short time, and left no children; secondly to Sarah Frances, daughter of Mr. Owen Wynne of Haslewood, co. Sligo, by whom he had five daughters. Her death preceded by a brief interval, and probably hastened, his own. He died at Markree Castle 23 April 1863, having nearly completed his sixty-fifth year. He was a kind as well as an improving landlord; his private life was blameless, and he united attractiveness of manner to varied accomplishments. He kept up to the last his interest in scientific pursuits, and numerous records of his work in astronomy were printed in the ‘Monthly Notices,’ the ‘Astronomische Nachrichten,’ and other learned collections. He imparted his observations of the annular eclipse of 15 May 1836 to the Paris Academy of Sciences (Comptes Rendus, xxvi. 110). For some years after his death the Markree observatory was completely neglected. It was, however, restored in 1874, when Mr. W. Doberck was appointed director, and the great refractor began to be employed, according to Cooper's original design, for the study of double stars.
[Proc. R. Soc. xiii. i; Observatory, vii. 283, 329 (Doberck); Times, 27 April 1863; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1868; R. Soc. Cat. Sc. Papers.]
COOPER, ELIZABETH (fl. 1737), compiler of ‘The Muses' Library,’ the widow of an auctioneer, applied herself to the study of the early English poets, and in 1737 published ‘The Muses' Library; or a Series of English Poetry from the Saxons to the Reign of King Charles II,’ vol. i. The preface is well written, the extracts are not injudiciously chosen, and the critical remarks appended to each extract are sensible. Mrs. Cooper was largely assisted in her undertaking by the antiquary Oldys, whose services she acknowledges in the preface. No more than vol. i. was published. The unsold copies were reissued in 1741 with a new title-page, but the book attracted little attention. Mrs. Cooper was the authoress of ‘The Rival Widows, or the Fair Libertine. A Comedy,’ 8vo, acted for nine nights at Covent Garden (the authoress taking the principal character on her benefit nights), and printed in 1735 with a dedication to the Dowager
