 Horace Everett Hooper was an American businessman, and a close associate of James Clarke, one of the leading American bootleggers.Hooper recognized the potential profit in the "Britannica" and, again in 1896, learned that both the "Britannica" and "The Times" of London were in financial straits.Hooper formed a partnership with Clarke, his brother George Clarke, and Walter Montgomery Jackson to sell the "Britannica" under the sponsorship of "The Times", meaning that "The Times" would advertise the sale and lend its respectable name.