Thomas Common (1850–1919)David S. Thatcher, ''Nietzsche in England, 1890-1914'', University of Toronto Press, 1970. was a translator and critic, who translated several books by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

into English. There is little information about him biographically, though indications are that he was a well-educated and literate scholar. He lived in the area of Corstorphine, Scotland which is now a suburb of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In the mid-1890s, he joined a project led by Alexander Tille to produce a complete English edition of Nietzsche's work. Common translated several of them, including a version of '' Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' published in 1909. In 1901 he published a book called ''Nietzsche as Critic, Philosopher, Poet and Prophet'' that was extremely enthusiastic about its subject, and was recommended to the publisher by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

. The book did not circulate widely as the publisher, Grant Richards, went bankrupt soon after publication, but it was read by W. B. Yeats, who was strongly influenced by Nietzschean ideas, as can be seen in his poetry. From 1903 to 1916 Common produced a quarterly journal called ''Notes for Good Europeans'' (later titled ''The Good European Point of View''), with the purpose of increasing public interest in Nietzsche.

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* * * * Scottish translators German–English translators 1850 births 1919 deaths Nietzsche scholars Translators of Friedrich Nietzsche {{Scotland-translator-stub