Who was Thomas Carlyle?
Historian and Essayist and Social Critic.
Date and Place of Birth:
4th December 1795, Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire,
Scotland.
Family Background:
Son of a poor Calvinist stone mason. Oldest of
nine children.
Education:
Annan Grammar School. Edinburgh University studying
Mathematics and divinity. In 1818 returned to study law.
Chronology/Biography of Thomas Carlyle:
1814: Became a teacher
of mathematics at Annan Academy. Becomes interested in German literature
and philosophy.
1818: Returned to
Edinburgh University to study law after undergoing a spiritual crisis
when he gave up his Christian faith. Wrote articles for the "Edinburgh
Encyclopedia".
1821: Meets the
writer Jane Baillie Welsh who was later to become his wife.
1823: His first
major work is published in "The London Magazine" about
the "Life of Schiller".
1828: Moves to live
on his wife Jane's estate at Craigenputtock, near Dumfries to live
more frugally. Settles down to writing works on social philosophy.
1829: Published
"Signs of the Times" in the Edinburgh Review".
House at 24 Cheyne Row where Carlyle lived in London
(© Anthony Blagg)
1831: Takes a long
time to find a publisher for "Sartor Resartus" which is
a mixture of novel and autobiography about the value of clothes
and human values. Eventually it is taken up by Fraser's Magazine.
Meets John Stuart Mill.
1832: The American
writer Ralph Waldo Emerson visits him in Scotland.
1834: Moves to Chelsea
in London where he was to spend the rest of his life. Starts writing
his major work "The French Revolution".
Became a member of a literary circle that included the essayists
Leigh Hunt and the philosopher John Stuart Mill.
1835: Unfortunately
Mill's servant uses the manuscript of the
first volume of "The French Revolution" to start a fire.
1836: Emerson helps
him publish "The French Revolution" in America.
1837: Completes
and publishes both volumes of "The French Revolution"
in England.
1838: Publishes
"Sartor Resartus" in England. forms a hatred of Democracy
1840: Begins giving
a series of lectures on heroes, Chartism and history.
1841: Gives
a series of lectures, one of which is published
as "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History".
1845: Publishes
"The Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell."
1850: Publishes
"Latter Day Pamphlets."
1858: Begins writing
"The History of Friedrich the Great of Prussia".
1866: Becomes Lord
Rector of Edinburgh University and gives an inaugural address.
1874: Accepts the
Prussian Order of Merit from the Iron Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
but refuses a baronetcy from the English Prime Minister Disraeli.
Written Works:
- Numerous Articles for the "Edinburgh
Encyclopedia".
- 1824: Translation
of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship".
- 1825: "The
Life of Schiller"
- 1833-4 "Sartor
Resartus" (published in installments in Fraser's Magazine.
- 1836: "Sartor
Resartus" Published as a book in the United States.
- 1837: "The
French Revolution". (in three volumes).
- 1839: "Chartism".
- 1843: "Past
and Present"
- 1845: "The
Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell."
- 1850: "Latter
Day Pamphlets"
- 1858-65. "History
of Frederick the Great" (In Six Volumes).
- 1881: "Reminiscences".
Marriage:
1826 to Jane Baillie Welsh, a doctor's daughter
and writer.
Date and Place of Death:
5th February 1881, London, England.
Age at Death:
86.
Site of Grave:
Church Cemetery, Main Street, Ecclefechan,
Scotland. Refused the opportunity to be buried in Westminster Abbey
as he wanted to be buried next to his mother.
Places of Interest:
DUMRIES AND GALLOWAY:
Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace, The Arched House,
Ecclefechan, Lockerbie.
EAST LOTHIAN:
Jane Welch Carlyle's House, 1A Lodge Street,
Haddington, East Lothian.
LONDON:
Carlye's House, 24 Cheyne Row, Chelsea, London,
SW3.
The British Library.
Statue of Thomas Carlyle in London
near Chelsea Embankment
(© Anthony Blagg)
