Thomas Napier Thomson (25 February 1798 – 1 February 1869) was a Scottish minister, historian and biographer. While still young he stopped using his middle name.
Life
He was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
on 25 February 1798, the fifth son of Hugh Thomson, a West India merchant. About 1812 the family moved to London, and Thomson was placed at a boarding-school near
Barnet. A
bronchial
A bronchus ( ; : bronchi, ) is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts Atmosphere of Earth, air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi to branch from the trachea at the Carina of trachea, carina are the right main b ...
medical problem meant he was sent to his uncle's house in
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
, and in October 1813 he entered the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
as "Thomas Thomson", dropping the middle name after a disagreement with the Napier family.
After entering the divinity hall as a student for the ministry, Thomson was reduced to poverty by his father's money troubles. He supported himself at college as a private tutor, and in 1823 obtained the two highest prizes in the University of Glasgow. Having received a license as a preacher, he officiated in many parts of Scotland, as well as in Newcastle and Birmingham. In Glasgow he delivered a series of lectures to ladies on the "Philosophy of History".
In 1827 he was appointed assistant to Laurence Adamson, minister of
Cupar-Fife; but had to resign when his throat problem flared up. He was then ordained to the charge of the Scottish church in
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River, New South Wales, Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New S ...
, for which he sailed on 11 May 1831 with a brother and sister. On arriving at Maitland, there was neither church, manse, nor congregation, so he initiated a charge at
Bathurst on 13 July 1832. About this time he married. Shortly after the birth of his second child he resigned his charge and returned to England.
Thomson arrived in England 1835, becoming a professional writer. In July 1844 he left London for Edinburgh, where he had been appointed by the
Scottish Free Church editor of a series of works it was about to publish. When that ended, he worked on journalism. In 1851 he became connected with
Blackie & Son, the publishers, for whom he later was a staff writer.
Thomson died at
Trinity, Edinburgh, on 1 February 1869.
Works
In 1818 Thomson published ''The Immortality of the Soul, and other Poems'', his only work in verse. In his college days he produced also ''Richard Gordon'', ''The Christian Martyr'', ''A Visit to Dalgarnock'', and ''The City of the Sun''. As a minister, he wrote for ''The Christian Instructor''.
took Thomson on to edit and remodel
Robert Henry's ‘History of Great Britain.’ This project was shelved in favour of a new work, ''The Pictorial History of England'' (1838), to which Thomson was one of the main contributors. He also wrote extensively for the periodical press, and biographical and critical notices for ''The Book of the Poets: Chaucer to Beattie'' (London, 1842).
In 1840 Thomson was commissioned by the
Wodrow Society to edit
David Calderwood's ''Historie of the Kirk of Scotland''. He used the original manuscript in the British Museum, and took nearly five years. The Free Church series of which Thomson was editor comprised the ''Select Practical Writings'' of
John Knox
John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland.
Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...
and others.
[Rutherford, Traill, Henderson, Guthrie, Veitch, Hog, and Fleming.]
In 1851 Thomson wrote a supplementary volume of
Robert Chambers's ''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen'', and immediately before his death he prepared a new edition (3 vols., revised and continued with a supplement) which was published between 1869 and 1871. It is his best known work. His own biography is contained in the supplement. He also published:
* ''British Naval Biography: Howard to Codrington'', London, 1839; 2nd edit. 1854.
* ''British Military Biography: Alfred to Wellington'', London, 1840; 2nd edit. 1854.
* ''History of Scotland for Schools'', Edinburgh, 1849.
Thomson edited:
*
Robert Fleming the younger's ''Discourse on the Rise and Fall of the Papacy'', Edinburgh, 1846;
*
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
's ''Poetical Works'', London, 1853;
*the works of
James Hogg
James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots language, Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a ...
, 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1865;
*''Civil and Military History of England'', a work of
Charles Macfarlane from the ''Pictorial History'', as ''The Comprehensive History of England'' (4 vols. 1858–61).
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Thomas Napier
1798 births
1869 deaths
19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland
19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers
19th-century Scottish historians
Scottish biographers