Cooper Baronets, of Shenstone Court

The Cooper Baronetcy, of Shenstone Court in the parish of Shenstone in the County of Stafford, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 20 December 1905 for the agriculturalist Richard Powell Cooper.

The family business, in which the first four baronets were heavily involved, was notable for the invention of insecticides related to veterinary products, today known as Sheep dip. To date there have been six baronets. Sir William Cooper, 3rd baronet, once said "Our family solved Australia's economy overnight"

In terms of the British Baronetcy the Coopers are not an old family, their rise to prosperity during the Victorian era is a prime example of the achievement and social mobility possible in that age of scientific and industrial progress. When for the first time social advancement was occurring on a large scale.

The family business originally known as "Coopers" was founded by William Cooper, a veterinary surgeon, circa 1843 in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire. Legend has it that he arrived in town with nothing but a bag with containing the tools of his trade. In the 1851 census he is recorded as a resident of the High Street in Berkhamstead.

As a veterinary surgeon he was frequently confronted by the horrendous condition of farm animals caused by various parasitic insects, in particular a skin disease which afflicted sheep known as "sheep scab" - at the time treated very ineffectually by only ointments composed of tobacco stalk and brimstone emulsified in animal fats. Cooper began to conduct his own experiments with preparations of arsenic and sulphur. By 1852 his experiments were conclusive enough for him to market the first truly effective sheep dip known as "Cooper's dip" it was sold in a powdered form which was easily transportable.

...
Wikipedia