| 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.
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