Author: Talfourd, Thomas Noon
Biography:
TALFOURD, Thomas Noon (1795-1854: ODNB)
Born 26 May 1795 at Reading, Berkshire, to brewer Edward Talfourd (1765-1833), a Nonconformist, and his wife, Anne Isabella Noon (1770-1858), he was educated privately and at a Nonconformist grammar school at Mill Hill, Middlesex. At the Reading grammar school, he was educated by Richard Valpy (q.v.). Talfourd studied law at the Inner Temple; in 1821 he was called to the Bar at Middle Temple. Appointed sergeant-at-law in 1799, in 1808 he became a judge of the king's bench. Appalled by the Peterloo Massacre, in 1819 he made a rousing public speech at Reading that garnered him political support. It was not until 1835, however, that he entered parliament as radical MP for Reading. He was reelected in 1837, but did not contest the 1841 election. His lasting contributions as a parliamentarian were the 1839 Custody of Infants Act (2 & 3 Vict. c. 54) and the Copyright Act of 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. 45) that had he largely inspired. In 1821, he married Rachel, the daughter of John Towill Rutt, by whom he had five children. His son Francis (1828-1862) was a minor dramatist. A prolific contributor to journals, in particular to ER, and a respected writer of minor poetry and drama, his 1835 tragedy Ion, performed at Covent Garden in 1836, was well received. He was the close acquaintance of major literary figures whom he entertained at his Bloomsbury townhouse, 56 Russell Square. His friends included Charles Lamb (q.v.), whose Letters (1837) and Memorials (1849-50) he edited. Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him and named fictional characters after him and his children. In 1841, he defended the publisher of Shelley’s (q.v.) Queen Mab. On 1 May 1843, he and his family were baptized into the Church of England; he was knighted on 30 Jan. 1850; and he died 13 Mar. 1854 at Shire Hall, Stafford. Impressed by his upright character and radical politics, biographers are tempted to treat his life hagiographically (vide, ODNB). (ODNB 20 Apr. 2023; ancestry.com 20 Apr. 2023) JC
Other Names:
- T. N. T.