author

Walter Thom

1770–1824

A Scottish writer and journalist with a practical eye for local history, he is best remembered for documenting Aberdeen and for his work in early nineteenth-century journalism. His career moved from bookselling in Scotland to newspaper editing in Dublin, giving his writing a grounded, lived-in quality.

1 Audiobook

Pedestrianism; or, An Account of the Performances of Celebrated Pedestrians During the Last and Present Century. With a full narrative of Captain Barclay's public and private matches; and an essay on training.

Pedestrianism; or, An Account of the Performances of Celebrated Pedestrians During the Last and Present Century. With a full narrative of Captain Barclay's public and private matches; and an essay on training.

by Walter Thom

About the author

Walter Thom (1770–1824) was a Scottish writer and journalist. He was born in Bervie, Kincardineshire, later settled in Aberdeen, and established himself there as a bookseller before moving into a wider literary and journalistic career.

He wrote History of Aberdeen (1811) and a treatise titled Pedestrianism (1813). He also contributed to major reference and survey works of the period, including Brewster’s Encyclopædia, Sir John Sinclair’s Statistical Account of Scotland, and William Shaw Mason’s Statistical Account of Ireland.

In 1813 he went to Dublin to serve as editor of the Dublin Journal, assisted by his son Alexander Thom, who later became a notable publisher in Ireland. Walter Thom died in Dublin on June 16, 1824.