Thomas Carlyle
1 portrait of Thomas Carlyle
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Thomas Carlyle
by Robert Scott Tait
salt print on cream card mount, 1855
5 1/8 in. x 4 in. (130 mm x 102 mm) overall
Given by Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes, 1947
Photographs Collection
NPG x5641
Sitterback to top
- Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Historian and essayist; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Sitter associated with 94 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Robert Scott Tait (1816-1897), Painter and photographer. Artist or producer associated with 18 portraits.
Events of 1855back to top
Current affairs
Palmerston becomes Prime Minister, leading a coalition government after Lord Aberdeen loses a vote of confidence over his handling of the Crimean war. Known by the nickname 'Lord Pumicestone' for his abrasive style, Palmerston is the oldest prime minister in history to take up the post for the first time at the age of 71.Stamp duty on newspapers is abolished, creating the mass media market in the UK as newspapers became more widely and cheaply available.
Art and science
Following a trip through the Holy Land to the Dead Sea, William Holman Hunt begins his symbolically-laden painting The Scapegoat.John Millais marries Effie Gray, previously John Ruskin's wife, after their marriage was annulled that year.
The social theorist and sociologist Herbert Spencer and philosopher G. H. Lewes, publishes Principles of Pyschology, exploring a physiological basis to psychology.
International
The Fall of Sebastopol in the Crimean war, as Russia retreats, and the exhaustion of the Turkish alliance means the war nears its end. Despite being rebuffed by Florence Nightingale's team of nurses, Jamaican-born nurse Mary Seacole travels to the Crimea, opening a 'British Hotel' for sick and injured soldiers. She gains significant attention and praise for her nursing work.Comments back to top
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