Thomas Carlyle







© National Portrait Gallery, London
- Buy a print
- Use this image
- Share this
Thomas Carlyle
by (Octavius) Charles Watkins
woodburytype, 1875
3 1/2 in. x 2 1/4 in.( 90 mm x 58 mm )
Given by Algernon Graves, 1916
Photographs Collection
NPG Ax5087
Sitterback to top
- Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Historian and essayist; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Sitter associated with 84 portraits.
Artistback to top
- (Octavius) Charles Watkins (1836-1882), Photographer. Artist associated with 25 portraits.
Events of 1875back to top
Current affairs
Samuel Plimsoll, a back-bench Liberal MP, campaigns for measures to prevent the practice of overloading unseaworthy vessels and claiming insurance. The Plimsoll Line is established; a line drawn on ships, it denotes the maximum legal load a cargo ship is allowed to carry.The Public Health Act, the work of Richard A. Cross, sets down in detail the responsibilities of local authorities in terms of public health.
Art and science
Anthony Trollope's masterpiece The Way We Live Now is published after serialisation. Containing over 100 chapters, the complex plot, following the fortunes of sham financier Augustus Melmotte, tackles the commercial, political and moral hypocrisy of the age.International
Disraeli purchases nearly half the total shares in the Suez Canal Company from the bankrupt Egyptian Khedive, Ismail Pasha, securing a controlling interest in the trading route. Since Parliament was not in session at the time, Disraeli borrowed £4 million from the banking family Rothschilds, attracting much criticism from Parliamentary opponents, although he won popularity from the Queen and the public.Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this portrait? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license this image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.