Thomas Taplin Cooke

Thomas Taplin Cooke (1782–1866) 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.

Private life
Cooke was said to have had between thirteen and nineteen children who were mostly circus performers. He and his wife, Mary Anne, had a daughter Rebecca who married James Clements Boswell and their daughter was the equestrian performer Nellie Boswell. 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. At his death, her son's estate was valued at $5 million.