Thomas Taplin Cooke (1782–1866)[1] was an eminent English showman, born in Warwick, who toured in America as well as his own country. In 1997 Cooke was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame.[2]
Cooke was said to have had between thirteen and nineteen children who were mostly circus performers. He and his wife, Mary Anne,[1] had a daughter Rebecca who married and their daughter was the equestrian performer Nellie Boswell.[3] Another daughter, Mary Anne (1819-1897), married clown and contortionist William H. Cole; with their son, William Washington "Chilly Billy" Cole, she helped manage their Cole circus.[4] At his death, her son's estate was valued at $5 million.