Ransom Cook

One of nine children of furniture maker Joseph Cook and Mary Ann Tolman, he was born in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1794.

His family moved to the village of East Line (now Malta, New York) around 1802, where his father opened a furniture shop.

Soon after his marriage, Cook built a new furniture shop on Congress Street and enjoyed a successful business.

[2] In 1836 Thomas Davenport of Vermont joined with Cook, and the two developed a new electro-magnetic motor that was many years ahead of its time.

However, his most famous invention was the Cook Auger, sometimes referred to as the Beetle Bit, as it was inspired by examining the jaws of an insect under a microscope.