Henry Yates Thompson
Encyclopedia
Henry Yates Thompson was a British
newspaper
proprietor and collector of illuminated manuscripts.
merchant
and antiquary. He was educated at Harrow
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
, where he won the Porson prize for Greek verse. After graduation, Yates Thompson was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn
but never practiced, choosing instead to travel extensively throughout Europe and the United States, during which time witnessed the Second Battle of Chattanooga
. He served as private secretary to Earl Spencer
, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
, from 1868 until 1873, and stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal
for election to the House of Commons from South Lancashire
in the 1865 general election
, as well as in the 1868 general election
and an 1881 by-election
.
, in 1878, Yates Thompson's father-in-law gave him ownership of the Pall Mall Gazette
. Previously a Conservative
newspaper, Thompson transformed it into a Liberal publication, hiring first John Morley
, then Morley's assistant, W. T. Stead
, to edit the paper. He supported Stead through the controversy surrounding the editor's famous exposé
of child prostitution
, "The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" in 1885. Yet Yates Thompson had little interest in the publishing business, and he sold the Pall Mall Gazette for £50,000 to William Waldorf Astor
in 1892.
manuscripts from his grandfather, Joseph Brooks Yates, in 1855 started what became a lifelong interest in manuscript collection, one that established Yates Thompson as the leading British manuscript collector of his day. He benefited from the dispersal of a number of collections, including those from the libraries of Sir Thomas Phillipps
, Firmin Didot
, John Ruskin
, and the earl of Ashburnham. He had a prodigious memory, which aided him in combining long-separated volumes and manuscripts into complete sets. Endeavoring to keep his collection manageable, he sold off lesser volumes that he acquired, improving the overall quality of his collection as a consequence.
A few of the items that Yates Thompson collected were subsequently donated to museums, including the British Museum
and the Fitzwilliam Museum
. A philanthropist, he also donated buildings to Harrow and Newnham College, Cambridge
, and hospitals to Crewe
and the Horwich railway works. He died at his London home in 1928; upon his wife's death in 1941 an additional collection of illuminated manuscripts was donated to the British Museum (now the British Library).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
proprietor and collector of illuminated manuscripts.
Life and career
Yates Thompson was the eldest of five sons born to Samuel Henry Thompson, a banker, and Elizabeth Yates, the eldest of five daughters of Joseph Brooks Yates, a West IndiaCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and antiquary. He was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where he won the Porson prize for Greek verse. After graduation, Yates Thompson was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
but never practiced, choosing instead to travel extensively throughout Europe and the United States, during which time witnessed the Second Battle of Chattanooga
Second Battle of Chattanooga
The Second Battle of Chattanooga was a battle in the American Civil War, beginning on August 21, 1863, as the opening battle in the Chickamauga Campaign. The larger and more famous battles were the Battles for Chattanooga in November 1863.-Background:On August 16, 1863, Maj. Gen. William S...
. He served as private secretary to Earl Spencer
John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer KG, PC , known as Viscount Althorp from 1845 to 1857 , was a British Liberal Party politician under and close friend of British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone...
, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, from 1868 until 1873, and stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
for election to the House of Commons from South Lancashire
South Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Lancashire, formally called the Southern Division of Lancashire or Lancashire Southern, is a former county constituency in England...
in the 1865 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1865
The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
, as well as in the 1868 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
and an 1881 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
.
Publisher of the Pall Mall Gazette
Two years after his marriage to Elizabeth Smith, the eldest daughter of publisher George SmithGeorge Murray Smith
George Murray Smith was the son of George Smith who with Alexander Elder started the Victorian publishing firm of Smith, Elder & Co.. His brainchild, The Cornhill Magazine, was the premier fiction-carrying magazine of the 19th century.The firm was extremely successful. G. M...
, in 1878, Yates Thompson's father-in-law gave him ownership of the Pall Mall Gazette
Pall Mall Gazette
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
. Previously a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
newspaper, Thompson transformed it into a Liberal publication, hiring first John Morley
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM, PC was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1883...
, then Morley's assistant, W. T. Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
, to edit the paper. He supported Stead through the controversy surrounding the editor's famous exposé
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
of child prostitution
Prostitution of children
Prostitution of children or child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children in which a child performs the services of prostitution, for financial benefit. The term normally refers to prostitution by a minor, or person under the local age of majority...
, "The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" in 1885. Yet Yates Thompson had little interest in the publishing business, and he sold the Pall Mall Gazette for £50,000 to William Waldorf Astor
William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor
William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor was a very wealthy American who became a British nobleman. He was a member of the prominent Astor family.-Life in United States:...
in 1892.
Manuscript collector
Yates Thompson's sale of the Gazette allowed him to spend more time on his primary interest, manuscript collecting. The inheritance of a set of medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
manuscripts from his grandfather, Joseph Brooks Yates, in 1855 started what became a lifelong interest in manuscript collection, one that established Yates Thompson as the leading British manuscript collector of his day. He benefited from the dispersal of a number of collections, including those from the libraries of Sir Thomas Phillipps
Thomas Phillipps
Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet was an English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century, due to his severe condition of bibliomania...
, Firmin Didot
Firmin Didot
Firmin Didot was a French printer, engraver, and type founder. He invented the word "stereotype", which in printing refers to the metal printing plate created for the actual printing of pages , and used the process extensively, revolutionizing the book trade by his cheap editions...
, John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, and the earl of Ashburnham. He had a prodigious memory, which aided him in combining long-separated volumes and manuscripts into complete sets. Endeavoring to keep his collection manageable, he sold off lesser volumes that he acquired, improving the overall quality of his collection as a consequence.
A few of the items that Yates Thompson collected were subsequently donated to museums, including the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
. A philanthropist, he also donated buildings to Harrow and Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, and hospitals to Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
and the Horwich railway works. He died at his London home in 1928; upon his wife's death in 1941 an additional collection of illuminated manuscripts was donated to the British Museum (now the British Library).