Thomas Napier Thomson (25 February 1798 – 1 February 1869) was a Scottish minister, historian and biographer. While still young he stopped using his middle name.
Life
He was born in
Glasgow on 25 February 1798, the fifth son of Hugh Thomson, a West India merchant. About 1812 the family moved to London, and Thomson was placed at a boarding-school near
Barnet. A
bronchial
A bronchus is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi pronounced (BRAN-KAI) to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus ...
medical problem meant he was sent to his uncle's house in
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of R ...
, and in October 1813 he entered the
University of Glasgow as "Thomas Thomson", dropping the middle name after a disagreement with the Napier family.
After entering the divinity hall as a student for the ministry, Thomson was reduced to poverty by his father's money troubles. He supported himself at college as a private tutor, and in 1823 obtained the two highest prizes in the University of Glasgow. Having received a license as a preacher, he officiated in many parts of Scotland, as well as in Newcastle and Birmingham. In Glasgow he delivered a series of lectures to ladies on the "Philosophy of History".
In 1827 he was appointed assistant to Laurence Adamson, minister of
Cupar-Fife; but had to resign when his throat problem flared up. He was then ordained to the charge of the Scottish church in
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England ...
, for which he sailed on 11 May 1831 with a brother and sister. On arriving at Maitland, there was neither church, manse, nor congregation, so he initiated a charge at
Bathurst on 13 July 1832. About this time he married. Shortly after the birth of his second child he resigned his charge and returned to England.
Thomson arrived in England 1835, becoming a professional writer. In July 1844 he left London for Edinburgh, where he had been appointed by the
Scottish Free Church editor of a series of works it was about to publish. When that ended, he worked on journalism. In 1851 he became connected with
Blackie & Son, the publishers, for whom he later was a staff writer.
Thomson died at
Trinity, Edinburgh
Trinity is a district of northern Edinburgh, Scotland, once a part of the burgh of Leith (itself a part of the city since 1920). It is one of the outer villa suburbs of Edinburgh mainly created in the 19th century. It is bordered by Wardie to ...
, on 1 February 1869.
Works
In 1818 Thomson published ''The Immortality of the Soul, and other Poems'', his only work in verse. In his college days he produced also ''Richard Gordon'', ''The Christian Martyr'', ''A Visit to Dalgarnock'', and ''The City of the Sun''. As a minister, he wrote for ''The Christian Instructor''.
took Thomson on to edit and remodel
Robert Henry's ‘History of Great Britain.’ This project was shelved in favour of a new work, ''The Pictorial History of England'' (1838), to which Thomson was one of the main contributors. He also wrote extensively for the periodical press, and biographical and critical notices for ''The Book of the Poets: Chaucer to Beattie'' (London, 1842).
In 1840 Thomson was commissioned by the
Wodrow Society
The Wodrow Society, established in Edinburgh in 1841, was a society 'for the publication of the works of the fathers and early writers of the Reformed Church of Scotland'.
The society, established in May 1841, was named after Robert Wodrow, the h ...
to edit
David Calderwood
David Calderwood (157529 October 1650) was a Church of Scotland minister and historian. Calderwood was banished for his nonconformity. He found a home in the Low Countries, where he wrote his great work, the Altare Damascenum. It was a serious ...
's ''Historie of the Kirk of Scotland''. He used the original manuscript in the British Museum, and took nearly five years. The Free Church series of which Thomson was editor comprised the ''Select Practical Writings'' of
John Knox and others.
[Rutherford, Traill, Henderson, Guthrie, Veitch, Hog, and Fleming.]
In 1851 Thomson wrote a supplementary volume of
Robert Chambers's ''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen'', and immediately before his death he prepared a new edition (3 vols., revised and continued with a supplement) which was published between 1869 and 1871. It is his best known work. His own biography is contained in the supplement. He also published:
* ''British Naval Biography: Howard to Codrington'', London, 1839; 2nd edit. 1854.
* ''British Military Biography: Alfred to Wellington'', London, 1840; 2nd edit. 1854.
* ''History of Scotland for Schools'', Edinburgh, 1849.
Thomson edited:
*
Robert Fleming the younger
Rev Robert Fleming (the younger) (1660–1716) was a Scottish presbyterian minister, of liberal views, known as an early supporter of the principle of non-subscription to the Westminster Confession, and as an apocalyptic writer.
Life
The son ...
's ''Discourse on the Rise and Fall of the Papacy'', Edinburgh, 1846;
*
John Milton's ''Poetical Works'', London, 1853;
*the works of
James Hogg, 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1865;
*''Civil and Military History of England'', a work of
Charles Macfarlane from the ''Pictorial History'', as ''The Comprehensive History of England'' (4 vols. 1858–61).
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Thomas Napier
1798 births
1869 deaths
19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
19th-century Scottish historians
Scottish biographers