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Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous
Who was Thomas Carlyle? Historian and Essayist.
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 the arts. In 1818 returned to study law.
Chronology:
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.
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".
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".
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.
1840: Begins giving a series of lectures on heroes, Chartism and 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 Encyclopaedia".
- 1824: Translation of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister".
- 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).
- 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.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.
The British Library.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.
