Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881) was a Scottish essayist and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. He was born in Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, and was educated at Annan Academy. Coming from a strictly Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected by his father to become a preacher. However, while at Edinburgh University he lost his Christian faith. Nevertheless Calvinist values remained with him throughout his life. This combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in orthodox Christianity made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order.

External links

• Project Gutenberg text of Thomas Carlyle: Biography by John Nichol
• Online text of 'Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question' "http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/texts/carlyle/odnqbk.htm"