Thomas Campbell (1733–1795) was an Irish Protestant clergyman, best known as a travel writer and for his accounts of the circle of
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
on 4 May 1733. He was educated at
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
(B.A. 1756, M.A. 1761), and took orders in 1761. He was curate of
Clogher
Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and C ...
until 1772, when he was collated to the prebend of Tyholland, and in 1773 he was made chancellor of
St Macartan's Cathedral, Clogher
St Macartan's Cathedral, Clogher is one of two cathedral churches in the Diocese of Clogher (the other is St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen) in the Church of Ireland. It is situated in the village of Clogher, County Tyrone, Northern Irelan ...
. He was a preacher.
He died on 20 June 1795 in London.
Works
In 1777 he published (anonymously in London) ''A Philosophical Survey of the South of Ireland in a series of letters to John Watkinson, M.D.'' (a second edition was published in Dublin in 1778). It is supposed to record the tour of an Englishman in the south of Ireland, and gives a description of the major towns. Remarks on the trade of the country are thrown in, and Campbell advocates a political and commercial union with England. In the ''Survey'' Johnson's epitaph on
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...
appeared for the first time in print. Campbell is mentioned by
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
.
In 1789 Campbell published ‘Strictures on the Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Ireland till the Introduction of the Roman Ritual, and the Establishment of Papal Supremacy by Henry II.’ To this was added a ‘Sketch of the Constitution and Government of Ireland down to 1783.’ The book is controversial in tone, and is directed against O'Conor, Colonel Vallancey, and other antiquaries. Regarding the early history of Ireland, Campbell displayed a certain amount of scepticism. He considered the book as a fragment of a large work he meditated, and for which he obtained help from
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, whom he visited at
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
. Burke, he says, lent him four volumes of manuscripts, and advised him to be ‘as brief as possible upon everything antecedent to Henry II.’
Campbell also wrote a portion of the memoir of Goldsmith which appeared in Bishop Thomas Percy's edition of the poet published in 1801.
Diary
He kept a little diary during his visits to London. It was discovered behind an old press in the offices of the supreme court at
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, having been carried to Australia by a nephew at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was printed at Sydney in 1854. It contains notes of seven visits to England (in 1775, 1776–7, 1781, 1786, 1787, 1789, and 1792). The second appears to have been much the longest visit, but the first is the only one of which there is a detailed account. Through the Thrales the diarist became acquainted with Johnson, Boswell,
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...
, and others of the Johnsonian set. He was a shrewd, somewhat contemptuous observer, but gives full accounts of his encounters with Johnson. The diary affords confirmation of Boswell's accuracy. A popular preacher himself, Campbell went to hear Dr. William Dodd and other pulpit orators of the day: his remarks are uncomplimentary. Campbell was in London again in 1795, where he died on 20 June. Campbell's diary was printed at Sydney, in 1854, and reprinted, with some omissions, by Robina Napier in her ''Johnsoniana''.