giving the vertical and the other the horizontal position of the pencil. Cowper also took part in founding the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was a founding member of the Institution in 1847 and in the following year was elected a member of the council. In 1880-81 he served the office of President. Cowper was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1889. He married Juliana Hanson in 1847 in Kensington, London and they had six children, the youngest being the actor and singer Vernon Cowper (1871-1922). He died at home of pneumonia at the age of 73. References External links The Best of British Engineering 1750–1960 - Edward Alfred Cowper 1819 births 1893 deaths Engineers from London