Charles John Bowen Cooke (11 January 1859 – 18 October 1920) was born in Orton Longueville (then in Huntingdonshire) and was Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). He was the first to add superheating to the locomotives of the railway. He wrote a book called British locomotives: their history, construction; and modern development which was published in 1893, with a second edition in 1894, and third in 1899 A second book, Developments in Locomotive Practice followed in 1902.
Whilst CME of the LNWR he was responsible for the introduction of several new locomotive designs, including the George the Fifth and Claughton classes.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 New Year Honours for his efforts during the First World War.
He died on 18 October 1920 and is buried in the churchyard at St Just in Roseland, Cornwall.