William Thomson (writer) facts for kids

William Thomson (born 1746, died 1817) was a Scottish minister, a person who studies and writes about history, and a writer of many different kinds of books. He often used a fake name, Captain Thomas Newte. This made-up character even had his own story and became well-known on his own!

Life of William Thomson

William Thomson was born in a place called Forteviot in Scotland. His father was a builder and farmer, and his mother's father was a school teacher. William went to school in his local area, then to Perth grammar school, and finally to St. Andrews University.

After his studies, he became a librarian at Dupplin Castle. The Earl of Kinnoull, who owned the castle, encouraged William to study to become a minister in the Church of Scotland. The Earl even promised him a church to lead.

William finished his studies in Edinburgh and St. Andrews. He became an assistant minister in 1776. However, his interests and habits didn't quite fit with being a minister. After some complaints from people in the church, he left his job in 1778. He then moved to London to become a full-time writer.

At first, things were tough in London. He relied on money from the Earl of Kinnoull. But soon, he started getting a lot of writing work. In 1783, he received an honorary degree from Glasgow University. He became part of a group of writers and publishers in London.

William Thomson passed away at his home in Kensington on February 16, 1817.

Captain Thomas Newte: The Fictional Writer

Captain Thomas Newte was a character William Thomson created. Newte was supposedly born in Devonshire, England, in 1752, making him a bit younger than Thomson.

Newte claimed to own land in Devonshire and to have several ships. These ships were supposedly used by the East India Company, a big trading company at the time. In 1793, "Newte" was even made a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a famous group for smart people, when he visited the city.

The most famous book published under the name of Captain Thomas Newte was Prospects and Observations on a Tour of England and Scotland. It came out in 1791 and was very popular!

William Thomson's Books and Writings

William Thomson became well-known for finishing a history book called History of Philip III of Spain in 1783. He wrote the last two parts of this book. After that, he spent the rest of his life writing many different things. He wrote short books, life stories, travel guides, and other serious papers. He even tried writing novels and plays. Sometimes he worked with other writers, and as you know, he used fake names.

Here are some of William Thomson's important works:

• Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, published in 1782.
• The Man in the Moon, a funny novel from 1783. It was written in a style similar to another famous writer, Jonathan Swift.
• History of Great Britain from the Revolution of 1688 to the Accession of George I, a two-volume history book from 1787.
• Memoirs of the War in Asia from 1780 to 1784, two volumes published in 1788.
• Mammuth, or Human Nature displayed on a grand scale, in a Tour with the Tinkers into the Central Parts of Africa, a unique book from 1789.
• A Tour in England and Scotland by an English Gentleman, published in 1789. This book was later made bigger and published as Prospects and Observations on a Tour in England and Scotland, by Thomas Newte, Esq. in 1791.
• Memoirs of Sergeant Donald Macleod, a life story from 1791.
• Travels into Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, published in 1792 under the name Andrew Swinton.
• Memoirs relative to Military Tactics, a book about military strategies from 1805.
• Travels in Scotland by James Hall, an illustrated travel book from 1807.

William Thomson also helped with other books:

• He continued a history book about Greece written by Oliver Goldsmith.
• He added more to John Lanne Buchanan's Travels in the Hebrides in 1793.
• He translated a travel book called Travels to the North Cape from Italian.
• He put together a commentary on the Bible under the name Harrison.
• He edited Narrative of an Expedition against the revolted Negroes of Surinam. It's known that Thomson made big changes to the original story for the first version in 1795.

A play he wrote, called Caledonia, or the Clans of Yore, was published after he died in 1818. From 1790 to 1800, Thomson also wrote the history part of a yearly book called Annual Register.

From 1794 to 1796, William Thomson owned and largely wrote for a magazine called The English Review. He also wrote for other magazines and newspapers like The European Magazine and The Oracle. In politics, he supported the French Revolution in 1792 and was a supporter of a politician named Charles James Fox.

William Thomson's Family

William Thomson was married two times. His first wife was named Diana Miltone, and she was Scottish. His second wife was a writer herself, who wrote books like The Labyrinth of Life. William had children from both of his marriages.