Thomas Carlyle

Born in Ecclefechan, Scotland, on December 4, 1795, Thomas Carlyle became one of the best-known essayists and historians of the Victorian age. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, worked for a time as a teacher, and then devoted himself to writing. His books and lectures made him famous for a style that was intense, memorable, and often unlike anyone else's.

Carlyle is especially remembered for The French Revolution: A History, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, and his large later study of Frederick the Great. He lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and was sometimes called the "sage of Chelsea" because readers looked to him as a serious commentator on history, politics, work, and modern life.

His influence on Victorian intellectual and literary culture was enormous, though his ideas have also remained controversial. He died in London on February 5, 1881, and was buried in his native Ecclefechan.