COPPOCK

Charles Coppock (1837-1900)

Although his name has largely been forgotten, Charles Coppock was significant in mid- to late- 19^th-century English microscopy. His uncle was William Smith, the great investigator of diatoms, and so he was introduced to the world of microscopes at an early age. Charles entered Queen’s College, Cork, with the intention of becoming a civil engineer. When he graduated in 1856, he joined the Smith, Beck and Beck microscope company. In 1866, James Smith, the founder, retired and the company was renamed R & J Beck. Later that year, Richard Beck died and Charles became a partner in the company although the name stayed the same.

In 1867, he was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Microscopical Society and (in 1870) of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Although Coppock probably started working for himself before that, in 1882 he formally left R & J Beck to start his own company. As well as manufacturing his own instruments, he imported French (Nachet) and German (Zeiss) microscopes.