Thomas Atkinson (1801 - 1833) was a Scottish poet and miscellaneous writer.
Atkinson was a native of Glasgow, where he carried on business as a bookseller. He followed in the shoes of his father, also Thomas Atkinson.[1] He was apprenticed to Brash & Reid, booksellers, and continued for a time there.[2]
From 1823 to 1830 Atkinson was in partnership with David Robertson, having taken over the business of William Turnbull on his death.[3] [4] Later he ran a bookshop at 80 Trongate under the name of Atkinson & Co.[5]
After the passing of the Reform Bill, Atkins became a candidate in the liberal interest for the representation of the in parliament, but was unsuccessful, losing to Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny.[6] He then fell ill with consumption, and died at sea on a passage to Barbados, 10 October 1833.[1]
In 1821 appeared the pseudonymous work Three Nights in Perthshire by Percy Yorke Jr., written by Thomas Atkinson.[7] With his older friend David Robertson, he had made a visit to Perthshire, the historical county: they went to the Trossachs, now in the Stirling council area, as is Kippen, Robertson's native town.[2] [4] The book is a fictionalised account of their visit to Loch Ard and the farm Ledard there, run by the Macfarlane family.[8] [9] It was privately printed, and given a later edition.
Atkinson published the Sextuple Alliance (poems on Napoleon Bonaparte), dedicated to James Ewing of Levenside, a friend.[3] [10] A fortnightly, then weekly literary periodical, The Ant, appeared end 1826–end 1827. It had a supposed co-editor "Solomon Saveal" (see). A Scottish-themed annual, The Chameleon, appeared three times from 1831.[3]
Monies left in Atkinson's will created the Atkinson Institution in Glasgow.[11] It was a trust for technical education, functioning in 1861.[12] It was in existence until the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College was founded in 1887 when its funds were used for student bursaries.[13]