Thomas Wilson
Thomas Wilson was an influential English scholar and public servant born around 1523 or 1524 in Lincolnshire, England. He received his education at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, where he interacted with notable thinkers of his era. In the 1550s, Wilson became a tutor to Katherine Willoughby's sons, which connected him to prominent Protestant circles. He is recognized for publishing significant works in logic and rhetoric, including "The Rule of Reason," which was the first English-language text on logic, and "The Arte of Rhetorique." These contributions were pivotal during the English Renaissance, as they made complex subjects more accessible to English speakers.
Wilson's career took a tumultuous turn during the reign of Mary I, leading him to flee to Italy due to religious persecution. After returning to England under Elizabeth I, he took on various diplomatic roles and became involved in significant political matters, including the examination of Mary, Queen of Scots. Throughout his life, Wilson remained a key figure in English intellectual and political spheres, remembered particularly for his pioneering works in logic and rhetoric that shaped educational practices of the time.
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Thomas Wilson
Writer
- Born: c. 1523
- Birthplace: Strubby, Lincolnshire, England
- Died: May 20, 1581
Biography
Thomas Wilson was born in Lincolnshire, England, sometime around 1523 or 1524. His family was a wealthy but rather undistinguished member of the gentry. Wilson studied first at Eton and then went to King’s College at Cambridge in 1541. While he was at Cambridge, he was introduced to some of the most progressive thinkers of his time, including Sir John Cheke, Sir Thomas Smith, William Haddon, and Roger Ascham.
In the 1550’s, Wilson accepted a tutoring position with Katherine Willoughby, the duchess of Suffolk. Her deceased husband, Charles Brandon, had been an intimate friend of King Henry VIII. Through the duchess, Wilson came to know influential men in the Protestant circles at the court. Wilson taught Henry and Charles, the sons of the duchess, and held them in high regard. When the young men both tragically died of illness within a few hours of each other, Wilson and Haddon published a volume of memorial verses and two biographical letters about them in 1551.
In the same year, Wilson published the first of his famous books on logic and rhetoric, The Rule of Reason, Conteinyng the Arte of Logique Set Forth in Englishe. The book was dedicated to King Edward VI, and in its preface Wilson explains his purpose in writing the book. Prior to Wilson’s book, texts about logic were written in Latin; Wilson wanted to provide an English-language text on the subject. The success of the book prompted Wilson to write a book about rhetoric, The Arte of Rhetorique, for the Vse of All Suche as Are Studious of Eloquence(1553), which was dedicated to his patron, John Dudley, earl of Warwick.
Shortly after the publication of The Arte of Rhetorique, Wilson stopped writing for a while. With the accession of the Catholic monarch, Mary Queen of Scots, to the throne, Wilson was forced to leave England because of the threat of religious persecution. He fled to Italy in 1555, arriving first in Padua. Two years later he went to Rome and became involved in a plot at the papal court to depose Cardinal Reginald Pole. He was summoned back to England to appear before the court on charges of heresy, but he refused to answer the summons and was subsequently arrested in Rome. Although he was apparently tortured, he escaped death because of an insurrection in the city.
When Elizabeth I became queen, Wilson returned to London and began his career as a public servant. During the 1560’s and 1570’s, he served in a number of diplomatic positions, primarily in Spain and Portugal and later in the Spanish Netherlands. During the 1570’s, Wilson was involved in the unpleasant task of prosecuting traitors to the throne, including the examination of Mary, Queen of Scots, about her role in the conspiracy. By 1577, Wilson became Queen Elizabeth’s secretary, and he remained active in the Privy Council for the remainder of his life.
Wilson completed several translations, including a translation of the works of Demosthenes He also wrote several important political treatises during the 1570’s. However, he is best remembered as the writer of the first English-language versions of books on logic and rhetoric. In their time, these books were an important contribution to the development of the English Renaissance.