Thom's Directory on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Alexander Thom (1801–1879) was a Scottish publisher, the founder of ''Thom's Irish Almanac''.
Maps of Dublin accompanying Thom's Official Directory, 1874-1898.
A UCD Digital Library Collection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Alexander 1801 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Scottish publishers (people) 19th-century Scottish writers People from Moray People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish editors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople
Alexander Thom (1801–1879) was a Scottish publisher, the founder of ''Thom's Irish Almanac''.
Life
He was born atFindhorn
Findhorn ( or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, Scotland, Kinloss, and abou ...
in Moray
Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
, the son of the writer and journalist Walter Thom. He was educated at the High School, Edinburgh, and went to Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
at age 20 to assist his father in the management of the '' Dublin Journal''. On his father's death he obtained, through the influence of Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...
, the contract for printing for the post office in Ireland. In 1838 he obtained the contract for the printing for all royal commissions in Ireland, and in 1876 was appointed to the post of Queen's Printer for Ireland.
In 1844, Thom founded the work for which he is known, the ''Irish Almanac and Official Directory'', which became a leader in its field, incorporating statistics relating to Ireland.
At the beginning of the 1852 edition, a page-long introduction, or 'Advertisement', was included, in which an un-named author, presumably Thom himself, reflected briefly upon the history of the publication:
A very brief inspection of the Volume of The Irish Almanac and Official Directory for the year 1852, will suffice to show that the Publisher, so far from relaxing his exertions to maintain the preference bestowed on the work since its commencement in 1845, has used every means afforded him to render it still more worthy of the influential and years increasing patronage with which it has been honoured.Thom supervised its publication for over 30 years, passing the copyright to his son-in-law Frederick Pilkington in 1876. "Thom's Directory" was revised annually; in 1960 it was split into Thom's Dublin Street Directory and Thom's Commercial Directory, revised in alternate years until 2012.
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
relied heavily on the 1904 edition when writing '' Ulysses''.
In 1860, he published for free distribution ''A Collection of Tracts and Treatises illustrative of the Natural History, Antiquities, and the Political and Social State of Ireland'', two volumes which contain reprints of writers on Irish affairs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Included are works of James Ware, Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
, Sir John Davies
Sir John Davies (16 April 1569 (baptised)8 December 1626) was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal ...
, William Petty
Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth in Cromwellian conquest of I ...
, George Berkeley
George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...
, and others such as Gerard Boate, Thomas Prior and Arthur Dobbs
Arthur Dobbs (2 April 1689 – 28 March 1765) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of North Carolina from 1754 to 1764.
Early life and career
Arthur Dobbs was born in Girvan, Ayrshire where his mot ...
.
In 1878, during a printers' strike in Dublin, Thom sent work to Scotland. The resulting publicity brought the issue to the attention of the Westminster Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
.
Thom, who was twice married, died at his residence, Donnycarney House
Donnycarney () is a Northside suburb in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. It is mostly residential, around from the centre of Dublin. Dublin GAA's home stadium, Parnell Park, is located here.
Location ...
, near Dublin, on 22 December 1879.
List of Thom's Directories available free online
* Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 4th Annual Publication (1847) - (Alexander Thom) (village listings for South Dublin County) * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 7th Annual Publication (1850) - (Alexander Thom) - Hathitrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 8th Annual Publication (1851) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 9th Annual Publication (1852) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 14th Annual Publication (1857) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory with the Post Office Dublin City and County Directory, 16th Annual Publication (1859) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 19th Annual Publication (1862) * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 27th Annual Publication (1870) - (Alexander Thom) - Hathitrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 28th Annual Publication (1871) - (Alexander Thom) - Hathitrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 29th Annual Publication (1872) - (Alexander Thom) - Hathitrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 30th Annual Publication (1873) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 31st Annual Publication (1874) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 32nd Annual Publication (1875) - (Alexander Thom) - HathiTrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 33rd Annual Publication (1876) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 34th Annual Publication (1877) - (Alexander Thom) - HathiTrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 34th Annual Publication (1877) - (Alexander Thom) (village descriptions and listings for the South Dublin County area) * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 35th Annual Publication (1878) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 36th Annual Publication (1879) - (Alexander Thom) - HathiTrust * Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 37th Annual Publication (1880) - (Alexander Thom) - HathiTrust * Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 38th Annual Publication (1881) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 40th Annual Publication (1883) - (Alexander Thom) - Google Books * Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 41st Annual Publication (1884) - Internet ArchiveSee also
*Isaac Slater
Isaac Slater (1803 – 3 December 1883) was a British publisher of trade directories.
He was born in Manchester. In 1818 he became the apprentice of James Pigot, a publisher of trade directories. Either in 1833, or after the death of Pigot ...
References
Sources
* ;AttributionExternal links
*Maps of Dublin accompanying Thom's Official Directory, 1874-1898.
A UCD Digital Library Collection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Alexander 1801 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Scottish publishers (people) 19th-century Scottish writers People from Moray People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish editors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople