Thomas Hancock was the son of James Hancock, a cabinetmaker, Betty Hancock (nee Coleman). He was a member of the Hancock family of Marlborough, England. The Hancocks were a significant British family in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, known for their contributions to science, art, and industry.

Hancock was an inventor and rubber industrialist. was the son of James Hancock, a cabinetmaker, Betty Hancock (nee Coleman). He was a member of the Hancock family of Marlborough, England. The Hancocks were a significant British family in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, known for their contributions to science, art, and industry. He is best known for inventing the ‘masticator’ in 1820, a machine which shredded rubber scraps to allow them to be recycled. He also developed and patented a means of applying rubber to clothing, in order to make it elastic. This line of research led to Hancock producing a number of elastic articles of clothing, including braces, waistbands and straps at his factory at Goswell Mews.

After moving to London, he began working with his brother John at the family coach-building business, before joining the rubber industry c1819.

Hancock later worked with rubber industrialist Charles Macintosh, supplying his company with masticated rubber to make waterproof clothing.

Hancock filed 16 patents related to rubber between 1820 and 1847, including one in 1843 for vulcanised rubber; rubber treated with sulphur to become more durable and temperature resistant material. He retired c1842-45, and his business passed to his former assistant and nephew James Lyne Hancock.