Thomas Christie (1761–1796) was a Scottish radical political writer during the late 18th century. He was one of the two original founders of the important liberal journal, the ''

Analytical Review The ''Analytical Review'' was an English periodical that was published from 1788 to 1798, having been established in London by the publisher Joseph Johnson and the writer Thomas Christie. Part of the Republic of Letters, it was a gadfly publicat ...

''.

Life

Christie was born to Alexander Christie (brother of the Unitarian writer William Christie), a merchant in Montrose,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1761. Christie attended a local grammar school and subsequently became a clerk in a bank. Deciding that he was more interested in literature and science, Christie studied medicine independently and then matriculated at the Westminster General Dispensary in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1784. At the same time, he began writing a series of articles on natural history for the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' and became friends with its editor, John Nichols. Although he attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1785 and 1786 to earn his medical degree, he left the program to dedicate himself to a life of letters. In 1787 Christie took a six-month tour of Britain, visiting almost every important town. He met and began a correspondence with

Anna Seward Anna Seward (12 December 1742 ld style: 1 December 1742./ref>Often wrongly given as 1747.25 March 1809) was an English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield. She benefited from her father's progressive views on female education. Li ...

, a poet living in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

; he also made the acquaintance of the naturalist and poet

Erasmus Darwin Erasmus Robert Darwin (12 December 173118 April 1802) was an English physician. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor, and poet. His poems ...

, the naturalist and

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June Old Style, OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales ...

and the

Dissenting Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

minister and scientist

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

. In 1788 Christie and

Joseph Johnson Joseph Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Joseph McMillan Johnson (1912–1990), American film art director *Smokey Johnson (1936–2015), New Orleans jazz musician * N.O. Joe (Joseph Johnson, born 1975), American musician, producer and songwrit ...

founded the highly influential ''

'', a periodical dedicated to open inquiry. It became the mouthpiece for reformers during the 1790s. A year later, he published the first part of ''Miscellanies, Philosophical, Medical, and Moral'', the work for he which is best known. It discusses topics ranging from theology to public education to history. During 1790 Christie spent six months in Paris, meeting many important

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

aries such as

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

, Sieyès and Necker. Upon his return to Britain, he became a loyal supporter of the revolution and published ''A Sketch of the New Constitution of France''. In 1791, he was one of the many who participated in the Revolution Controversy begun by Edmund Burke's ''

Reflections on the Revolution in France ''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' is a political pamphlet written by the Irish statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is fundamentally a contrast of the French Revolution to that time with the unwritten British Const ...

'' (1790). His reply, ''Letters on the Revolution in France and the New Constitution'', described his impressions of Paris and provided a contrast to Burke's depiction of it as lawless and violent. In 1792 he returned to Paris and was asked by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

to help translate a polyglot edition of the constitution. On 9 September 1792 Christie married a Miss Thomson and entered into a partnership with her grandfather's successful London carpet manufacturing business. In 1796 he traveled to

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

on business and died there.Christie, R. C. and Alexander Du Toit.
Thomas Christie
" ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Oxford University Press (2004). Retrieved on 24 July 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Thomas 1761 births 1796 deaths 18th-century Scottish writers British magazine writers People from Montrose, Angus Scottish political writers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh