Thomas William Bowlby
Encyclopedia
Thomas William Bowlby was a British correspondent for The Times
in Germany
and China
.
, he was the son of Thomas Bowlby, a Captain in the Royal Artillery
, and Williamina Martha Arnold Balfour, daughter of Major-General William Balfour, a former Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
. Bowlby's parents moved while he was young to Sunderland, where his father became a timber merchant. Bowlby was educated by Dr Cowan, a Scottish school teacher living in Sunderland.
After finishing his schooling he trained as a solicitor under his cousin Russell Bowlby of Sunderland and on completion of his training he moved to London where spent some years as a salaried clerk to a law firm in The Temple. In 1846 he became junior partner to the firm of Lawrence, Crowdy and Bowlby. However, Bowlby found the law uncongenial and felt drawn to a career in writing.
as special correspondent to The Times in 1848 to report on the revolutions then occurring in Europe.
In 1860 he was engaged to travel to China as the special correspondent of The Times. Lord Elgin and Baron Gros
were his fellow passengers in the steamship SS Malabar
, which sank in Galle
harbor on 22 May 1860 after being beached
in a severe storm; his report of the shipwreck was considered one of his best pieces of work.
Bowlby's reports from China were informative and popular with readers of The Times. After the capture of Tientsin on 23 August 1860, Bowlby accompanied Admiral Sir James Hope and four others to Tungchow to arrange the preliminaries of peace. They were captured and imprisoned by the Tartar general, San-kolin-sin (Senggelinqin). Bowlby died on 22 September at Tungchow
, from the effects of the treatment he received in prison.
His body was afterwards surrendered by the Chinese and buried in the Russian Cemetery outside the Anting gate
of Peking on 17 October 1860; he left a widow and five young children, among them the future Anthony Alfred Bowlby.
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Early life
Born in GibraltarGibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, he was the son of Thomas Bowlby, a Captain in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, and Williamina Martha Arnold Balfour, daughter of Major-General William Balfour, a former Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. Bowlby's parents moved while he was young to Sunderland, where his father became a timber merchant. Bowlby was educated by Dr Cowan, a Scottish school teacher living in Sunderland.
After finishing his schooling he trained as a solicitor under his cousin Russell Bowlby of Sunderland and on completion of his training he moved to London where spent some years as a salaried clerk to a law firm in The Temple. In 1846 he became junior partner to the firm of Lawrence, Crowdy and Bowlby. However, Bowlby found the law uncongenial and felt drawn to a career in writing.
Career
Although remaining a member of the firm of Lawrence, Crowdy and Bowlby until 1854, Bowlby went to BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
as special correspondent to The Times in 1848 to report on the revolutions then occurring in Europe.
In 1860 he was engaged to travel to China as the special correspondent of The Times. Lord Elgin and Baron Gros
Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros
Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros was a French ambassador and one of the first daguerrotypists. Baron and French chargé d'affaires in Bogotá , Athens and Ambassador to London - during which period he also travelled to China and Japan in 1857 and 1858 — he produced many famous daguerrotypes — chief among...
were his fellow passengers in the steamship SS Malabar
SS Malabar
The SS Malabar was a P & O mail steamship of 917 tons launched in 1858 which was lost in Point de Galle harbor on 22 May 1860.The passengers had embarked on the Malabar when a gale from the northeast drove the vessel's stern on to a reef. The water began to rise in the ship's rear section and the...
, which sank in Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
harbor on 22 May 1860 after being beached
Beach (nautical)
Beaching is when a vessel is laid ashore, or grounded deliberately in shallow water. This is more usual with small flat-bottomed boats. Larger ships may be beached deliberately, for instance in an emergency a damaged ship might be beached to prevent it from sinking in deep water...
in a severe storm; his report of the shipwreck was considered one of his best pieces of work.
Bowlby's reports from China were informative and popular with readers of The Times. After the capture of Tientsin on 23 August 1860, Bowlby accompanied Admiral Sir James Hope and four others to Tungchow to arrange the preliminaries of peace. They were captured and imprisoned by the Tartar general, San-kolin-sin (Senggelinqin). Bowlby died on 22 September at Tungchow
Tongzhou District
Tongzhou District is a district of Beijing, the capital of People's Republic of China. It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the Chinese capital...
, from the effects of the treatment he received in prison.
His body was afterwards surrendered by the Chinese and buried in the Russian Cemetery outside the Anting gate
Andingmen
Andingmen is the name of a gate in the former city wall of Beijing. It is currently a transportation node in northern urban Beijing and the old gate has been replaced by Andingmen Bridge, an overpass taking the form of a suspended roundabout...
of Peking on 17 October 1860; he left a widow and five young children, among them the future Anthony Alfred Bowlby.