Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agencyThomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodations, and the like.
Thomas Cook was born on 22 November 1808, to John and Elizabeth Cook, who lived at 9 Quick Close in the village of Melbourne, Derbyshire.[1] At the age of 10, Cook started working as an assistant to a local market gardener on Lord Melbourne's estate.[1] In 1828, he became a Baptist missionary and toured the region as a village evangelist and distributing pamphlets and, in the 1830s, he became involved in the temperance movement.[1]
On 2 March 1833, Cook married Marianne Mason (1807–1884) at the parish church in Barrowden in Rutland.[1] A son, John Mason Cook, was born on 13 January 1834.[1] A daughter, Annie Elizabeth, born on 21 June 1845, died in a bath aged 35 after inhaling poisonous fumes from a faulty water heater.[1]
Cook's first excursionsEdit
Panels from the Thomas Cook Building, Gallowtree Gate, Leicester, displaying excursions offered by Thomas Cook
With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway, he arranged to take a group of temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street railway station to a teetotal rally in Loughborough, eleven miles away. On 5 July 1841, Thomas Cook escorted around 485 people, who paid one shilling each for the return train journey, on his first excursion.[2] This is sometimes reported as the world's first railway excursion;[3] however this is incorrect as Grosmont church (Whitby) had already organised an excursion as a fund raiser in 1839.[4]
On 4 August 1845 he arranged for a party to travel from Leicester to Liverpool. In 1846, he took 350 people from Leicester on a tour of Scotland. In 1851 he arranged for 150,000 people to travel to the Great Exhibition in London. Four years later, he planned his first excursion abroad, when he took two groups on a 'grand circular tour' of Belgium, Germany and France, ending in Paris for the Exhibition.[2]
The Thomas Cook statue outside Leicester Railway Station, London Road, Leicester was unveiled on 14 January 1994 by his great-great-grandson Thomas Cook. It was sculpted by James Butler RA.[5]
Thomas Cook acquired business premises on Fleet Street, London in 1865.[7] The office also contained a shop which sold essential travel accessories, including guide books, luggage, telescopes and footwear. In 1872, he formed a partnership with his son, John Mason Andrew Cook, and renamed the travel agency as Thomas Cook & Son.[8]
In accordance with his beliefs, he and his wife also ran a small temperance hotel above the office. Their business model was refined by the introduction of the 'hotel coupon' in 1868. Detachable coupons in a counterfoil book were issued to the traveller. These were valid for either a restaurant meal or an overnight hotel stay provided they were on Cook's list.[2]
Conflicts between father and son were resolved when the son persuaded his father, Thomas Cook, to retire at the end of 1878.[2] Thomas Cook moved back at Thorncroft, Knighton, Leicester, where he died on 18 July 1892, having been afflicted with blindness in his declining years.[8] He was buried there on 22 July 1892.[1]
Thomas Cook was a frontrunner of establishing tourism systems and thus made mass tourism possible in Italy. First, the circular tickets could be used on almost all Italian railways. These tickets allowed travel by train for a preset number of days along predetermined routes. Second, Cook designed a series of hotel coupons to complement circular tickets, which could be exchanged for lodging and meals at designated accommodations. Last, he introduced the circular notes which could be changed at designated hotels, banks, and tickets agents for Italian lira at a predetermined exchange rate. Cook's introduction of tourism-specific currency facilitated easier and effective trips within Italy. Also, by introducing a widely dispersed coupon system, Cook "helped to stabilize the burgeoning Italian economy not only by increasing the revenues from tourism but also by expanding the circulation of Italy's new currency, the lira." The coupon system spread rapidly and was well accepted throughout Italian cities. Furthermore, thanks to this system, middle class Italians could afford to travel more frequently and more easily.[9]
^ abcdefg"Cook, Thomas (1808–1892)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6152. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ abcd"Leicester – the birthplace of popular tourism". The Story of Leicester. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
^Parkin, Diane. "Thomas Cook and the First Rail Excursion". Time Travel Britain. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
^"Grosmont". Grosmont Station notice board. North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
^"Thomas Cook statue". Crosby Heritage. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
^Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 596.
^"History of Thomas Cook". The Telegraph. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
^Stephanie Malia Hom (2015). Destination Nation: The Grand Tour, Thomas Cook, and the Arrival of Mass Tourism. University of Toronto Press. pp. 93–103. ISBN978-1-442-64872-2.
Usherwood, Stephen. "Travel Agents Extraordinary." History Today (Sep 1972), Vol. 22 Issue 9, pp. 649–655; online; coverage of father and son to 1899.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Cook.
Rare Travel Poster: Cook's Nile & Palestine Tours Shapell Manuscript Foundation
Thomas Cook Responds to Travel Testimonial: Original Letter
October 17, 2023
thomas, cook, this, article, about, travel, entrepreneur, current, travel, company, holidays, defunct, airline, airlines, other, uses, disambiguation, november, 1808, july, 1892, english, businessman, best, known, founding, travel, agency, also, initial, devel. This article is about the travel entrepreneur For the current travel company see Thomas Cook Holidays For the defunct airline see Thomas Cook Airlines For other uses see Thomas Cook disambiguation Thomas Cook 22 November 1808 18 July 1892 was an English businessman He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook amp Son He was also one of the initial developers of the package tour including travel accommodations and the like Thomas CookBorn 1808 11 22 22 November 1808Melbourne Derbyshire EnglandDied18 July 1892 1892 07 18 aged 83 Knighton Leicester EnglandOccupationFounder of Thomas Cook amp SonOrganizationThomas Cook amp Son Contents 1 Early life 2 Cook s first excursions 3 Thomas Cook amp Son 4 Legacy Thomas Cook and mass tourism 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 General sources 7 External linksEarly life EditThomas Cook was born on 22 November 1808 to John and Elizabeth Cook who lived at 9 Quick Close in the village of Melbourne Derbyshire 1 At the age of 10 Cook started working as an assistant to a local market gardener on Lord Melbourne s estate 1 In 1828 he became a Baptist missionary and toured the region as a village evangelist and distributing pamphlets and in the 1830s he became involved in the temperance movement 1 On 2 March 1833 Cook married Marianne Mason 1807 1884 at the parish church in Barrowden in Rutland 1 A son John Mason Cook was born on 13 January 1834 1 A daughter Annie Elizabeth born on 21 June 1845 died in a bath aged 35 after inhaling poisonous fumes from a faulty water heater 1 Cook s first excursions Edit nbsp Panels from the Thomas Cook Building Gallowtree Gate Leicester displaying excursions offered by Thomas CookWith the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway he arranged to take a group of temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street railway station to a teetotal rally in Loughborough eleven miles away On 5 July 1841 Thomas Cook escorted around 485 people who paid one shilling each for the return train journey on his first excursion 2 This is sometimes reported as the world s first railway excursion 3 however this is incorrect as Grosmont church Whitby had already organised an excursion as a fund raiser in 1839 4 nbsp Statue near Leicester railway stationOn 4 August 1845 he arranged for a party to travel from Leicester to Liverpool In 1846 he took 350 people from Leicester on a tour of Scotland In 1851 he arranged for 150 000 people to travel to the Great Exhibition in London Four years later he planned his first excursion abroad when he took two groups on a grand circular tour of Belgium Germany and France ending in Paris for the Exhibition 2 The Thomas Cook statue outside Leicester Railway Station London Road Leicester was unveiled on 14 January 1994 by his great great grandson Thomas Cook It was sculpted by James Butler RA 5 He was awarded the Serbian Order of Saint Sava 6 Thomas Cook amp Son EditThomas Cook acquired business premises on Fleet Street London in 1865 7 The office also contained a shop which sold essential travel accessories including guide books luggage telescopes and footwear In 1872 he formed a partnership with his son John Mason Andrew Cook and renamed the travel agency as Thomas Cook amp Son 8 In accordance with his beliefs he and his wife also ran a small temperance hotel above the office Their business model was refined by the introduction of the hotel coupon in 1868 Detachable coupons in a counterfoil book were issued to the traveller These were valid for either a restaurant meal or an overnight hotel stay provided they were on Cook s list 2 Conflicts between father and son were resolved when the son persuaded his father Thomas Cook to retire at the end of 1878 2 Thomas Cook moved back at Thorncroft Knighton Leicester where he died on 18 July 1892 having been afflicted with blindness in his declining years 8 He was buried there on 22 July 1892 1 nbsp Cook s grave in Welford Road Cemetery LeicesterLegacy Thomas Cook and mass tourism Edit nbsp Nile cruise poster from 1922Thomas Cook was a frontrunner of establishing tourism systems and thus made mass tourism possible in Italy First the circular tickets could be used on almost all Italian railways These tickets allowed travel by train for a preset number of days along predetermined routes Second Cook designed a series of hotel coupons to complement circular tickets which could be exchanged for lodging and meals at designated accommodations Last he introduced the circular notes which could be changed at designated hotels banks and tickets agents for Italian lira at a predetermined exchange rate Cook s introduction of tourism specific currency facilitated easier and effective trips within Italy Also by introducing a widely dispersed coupon system Cook helped to stabilize the burgeoning Italian economy not only by increasing the revenues from tourism but also by expanding the circulation of Italy s new currency the lira The coupon system spread rapidly and was well accepted throughout Italian cities Furthermore thanks to this system middle class Italians could afford to travel more frequently and more easily 9 See also EditThomas Cook European Timetable Cook s Travellers HandbooksReferences EditCitations Edit a b c d e f g Cook Thomas 1808 1892 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press 2004 doi 10 1093 ref odnb 6152 Subscription or UK public library membership required a b c d Leicester the birthplace of popular tourism The Story of Leicester Retrieved 22 September 2019 Parkin Diane Thomas Cook and the First Rail Excursion Time Travel Britain Retrieved 21 April 2021 Grosmont Grosmont Station notice board North Yorkshire Moors Railway Retrieved 21 April 2021 Thomas Cook statue Crosby Heritage Retrieved 22 September 2019 Acovic Dragomir 2012 Slava i cast Odlikovanja među Srbima Srbi među odlikovanjima Belgrade Sluzbeni Glasnik p 596 History of Thomas Cook The Telegraph 20 September 2019 Retrieved 22 September 2019 a b Chisholm 1911 Stephanie Malia Hom 2015 Destination Nation The Grand Tour Thomas Cook and the Arrival of Mass Tourism University of Toronto Press pp 93 103 ISBN 978 1 442 64872 2 General sources Edit Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Cook Thomas Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press Rae William Fraser 1901 Cook Thomas 1808 1892 In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography 1st supplement Vol 16 London Smith Elder amp Co pp 55 58 Usherwood Stephen Travel Agents Extraordinary History Today Sep 1972 Vol 22 Issue 9 pp 649 655 online coverage of father and son to 1899 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Cook Thomas Cook Biography Rare Travel Poster Cook s Nile amp Palestine Tours Shapell Manuscript Foundation Thomas Cook Responds to Travel Testimonial Original Letter Article about Thomas Cook Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Cook amp oldid 1163649154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
