Thomas Warren (
fl. 1727–1767) was an English bookseller, printer, publisher and businessman.
Warren was an influential figure in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
at a time when it was a hotbed of creative activity, opening a bookshop in
High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
, Birmingham around 1727.
From here he founded and published the ''
Birmingham Journal'' – the town's first known newspaper; he edited and published
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 ...
's first book – a translation of
Jerónimo Lobo
Jerónimo Lobo (1595 – 29 January 1678) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary. He took part in the unsuccessful efforts to convert Ethiopia from the native Ethiopian church to Roman Catholicism until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1643. Aft ...
’s ''Voyage to Abyssinia''—and with
Joshua Kirton sold
Francis Godwin
Francis Godwin (1562–1633) was an English historian, science fiction author, Anglicanism#Anglican divines, divine, Bishop of Llandaff and Bishop of Hereford, of Hereford.
Life
He was the son of Thomas Godwin (bishop), Thomas Godwin, Bishop of ...
's ''
The Man in the Moone
''The Man in the Moone'' is a book by the English Divine (noun), divine and Church of England bishop Francis Godwin (1562–1633), describing a "voyage of utopian discovery". Long considered to be one of his early works, it is now generally tho ...
''.
He also financed the
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
established by
John Wyatt and
Lewis Paul
Lewis Paul (died 1759) was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill.
Life and work
Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury. He may have ...
in 1741. This was the world's first mechanised cotton-spinning factory, and was to pave the way for
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as t ...
's later transformation of the cotton industry during the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
.
The Paul-Wyatt cotton mill was not a financial success, however, and Warren declared bankruptcy in 1743.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Thomas
People of the Industrial Revolution
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
Spinning
Year of birth missing
British textile industry businesspeople
1767 deaths
English booksellers
English newspaper founders
18th-century British newspaper founders