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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(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 A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on various substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a contin ...

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 liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

, 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 (RSE) 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 establis ...

. 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 (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

's Pollock Halls of Residence. He fell into ill-health in 1890 and died on 20 October 1892 leaving a fortune of over £1 million.

Publications written by Nelson

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

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when Alfr ...

'' (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 and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Their son Thomas Arthur Nelson was a Captain in the Lothians and Border Horse in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was killed at

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

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 19th-century Scottish inventors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Burials at the Grange Cemetery {{Scotland-business-bio-stub