Author: Thomson, Anthony Todd
Biography:
THOMSON, Anthony Todd (1778-1849: ODNB)
Although he was born in Edinburgh to Mary Elizabeth (Spencer) and Alexander Thomson (d c. 1800), his father had held various British government posts in America, and the family returned there soon after his birth. His mother died in 1779 and his father married a relative, Mrs Rennie (or Rainie). With the establishment of the American republic, the family returned to Edinburgh where he was educated at the High School and University (like many, he did not graduate). In 1801 he married Christian Maxwell in Edinburgh and they moved to London. He joined the Royal College of Surgeons and established a lucrative medical practice where he worked until 1826. He and Christian had three children. She died in 1819 (not 1815 as given in the ODNB) and in 1820 he married Katherine Byerly; they had eight children. Katherine illustrated some of his books and became a successful biographer and historical novelist (see her entry in ODNB). He helped to establish the Chelsea, Brompton, and Belgrave dispensary; belonged to numerous professional and learned societies; lectured on medical and botanical subjects; and was a prolific writer mainly of medical texts and articles although he also edited James Thomson’s The Seasons (1847). In 1824 he was admitted Doctor of Physic by St Andrews University although he was not made a fellow of the Royal Society of Physicians until 1842. He was a physician at the North London (now University College) Hospital. Constant work took its toll and his health began to break down in 1835. He died at Ealing, Middlesex, from bronchitis. He had expressed a wish to be buried in a rural setting, and he was interred in the churchyard at St Mary’s, Perivale. (ODNB 18 Nov. 2020; ancestry.co.uk 18 Nov. 2020) SR