Spencer Campbell Thomson
FRSE FFA (1842–1931) was a Scottish actuary and influential businessman. He introduced statistical mortality rates into life insurance.
Personal life
Spencer Thomson was born on 16 October 1842, the son of
William Thomas Thomson FRSE (1813-1883), manager of the
Standard Life Assurance Company, and Christian Anne Seamen, 'above the office' at 3 George Street in central
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
The family lived at Trinity Grove in north Edinburgh. He was educated at
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...
until 1858 then completed his education at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
before studying at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
from 1861. His parents were then living at 41 Moray Place on the
Moray Estate
The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town.
Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning.
Back ...
in Edinburgh's West End.
In 1869 he married Georgina Maria Joanna Cockburn, daughter of George Ferguson Cockburn, commander of the British Army at
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
, granddaughter of
Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn
Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; Cockpen, Midlothian, 26 October 1779 – Bonaly, Midlothian, 26 April/18 July 1854) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 a ...
. They had at least five children. In the 1870s he lived at 10 Chester Street, a townhouse in Edinburgh's fashionable West end.
Due to family connections he was President of the
Cockburn Association
The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875.
The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...
in Edinburgh.
By 1910 he was living at 10 Eglinton Crescent, still in the West End, and in 1919 he married a widow, Helen Gladys Walker (nee Montgomery), granddaughter of Sir William Stewart Walker of Bowland KCB.
Career
He graduated BA in 1865 and immediately joined Standard Life as a clerk (at age 23), although within the year was promoted to actuarial assistant, and then joint-actuary in 1865. He was promoted to assistant manager in 1871, became acting manager in 1874, and when his father retired from Standard Life in 1878, Spencer succeeded him as manager.
In 1870, aged only 28, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Sir
Robert Christison
Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1797 – 27 January 1882) was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838–40 and 1846-8) and as president of the British ...
.
Under Spencer Thomson's management, Standard Life expanded to include industry investments, including
Barrow Shipbuilding Co., Appleby Iron Co., and Hematite Iron Co, as well as to the Copenhagen-based shipbuilders and engineers,
Burmeister & Wain
Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it ...
. Additionally, properties were added to Standard Life’s portfolio, despite weaknesses in the property market in the 1870's. Spencer Thomson was keen to foster the company's presence globally, and had influence on the company's overseas presence in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
China, the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
, and began to establish a presence within mainland Europe, with agents appointed in both
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
From 1890 to 1892 he was President of the
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...
.
In 1897 he commissioned the Edinburgh architects
George Washington Browne
Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland a ...
and
John More Dick Peddie
John More Dick Peddie (21 August 1853 – 10 March 1921) was a British architect.
Biography
Peddie was the son of the architect and politician John Dick Peddie (1824–1891) and his wife Euphemia Lockhart More. Born in Edinburgh, he attend ...
to wholly remodel the company offices on George Street. This incorporated the pediment of
David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect.
Life
Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...
's original office of 1839, and the residential flat on the top floor (where he was born).
Spencer Thomson retired in 1904, at the age of 64, and was succeeded as manager by
Leonard Walter Dixon.
He died at 3 George Street in Edinburgh (at the flat where he was born) on 11 May 1931.
[Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1931]
The interior of his office (and his flat) was destroyed in the remodelling of the office building in 1975.
Publications
*''Notes on Mortality in India and Some Other Tropical Countries''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Spencer Campbell
1842 births
1931 deaths
Businesspeople from Edinburgh
People educated at Edinburgh Academy
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Scottish businesspeople
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
British actuaries