Thomas Nelson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1822–1892) was a Scottish businessman who joined the family publishing firm of Thomas Nelson in 1839 at which point it was renamed Thomas Nelson & Sons. In 1850 he invented an improved rotary printing press.

Life

He was born on 25 December,

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, 1822, son of Thomas Nelson then a bookseller, and his wife, Margaret Black. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh. Thomas joined his father's company on his 17th birthday in 1839. In 1844 the firm moved to larger premises in Hope Park in Edinburgh's South Side. The company began specialising in school text books. Thomas Junior moved to London in 1844 to open a new major branch there. He returned to Edinburgh in 1846. From 1855 he lived with his father in the newly commissioned Abden House in Edinburgh's South Side, inheriting the house on his father's death in 1861. In 1866 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposer was Alexander Keith Johnston. In 1869 Thomas commissioned John Lessels to build St Leonards, a very large baronial mansion close to his premises, built in the grounds of Abden House. The building now forms part of

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

Pollock Halls of Residence Pollock Halls of Residence is the largest halls of residence for the University of Edinburgh, located in St Leonard's, Edinburgh, Scotland, near the foot of Arthur's Seat. The complex of buildings houses more than 2,000 undergraduate students ...

. He fell into ill-health in 1890 and died on 20 October 1892 leaving a fortune of over £1 million. He is buried in Grange Cemetery, close to his parents, in the extreme north-west corner of the original cemetery.

Publications written by Nelson

*''Waydside Flowers'' (1850) *''Blind Alice and her Benefactress'' (1851) *''The History of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...

'' (1851) *''The Life of Daniel'' (1851) *''The History of a Ship'' (1852) *''New Atlas of the World'' (1859) *''Memorials of Early Genius'' (1860) *''A Class Atlas of Ancient Geography'' (1867)

Family

In 1868 he married Jessie Kemp (1846-1919) daughter of James Kemp of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Their son

Thomas Arthur Nelson Thomas Arthur Nelson Mentioned in Dispatches, MID (22 September 1876 – 9 April 1917) was a Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland international rugby union player. He later became a book publisher in his family's firm of Thomas Nelson (pu ...

was a Captain in the

Lothians and Border Horse The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian ( Ha ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was killed at Arras in April 1917.

References

1822 births 1892 deaths Publishers (people) from Edinburgh Scottish printers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish inventors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Burials at the Grange Cemetery {{Scotland-business-bio-stub