Thomas Warren

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Thomas Warren (fl. 1727–1767) was an English bookseller, printer, publisher and businessman.

Warren was an influential figure in Birmingham at a time when it was a hotbed of creative activity, opening a bookshop in High Street, Birmingham around 1727.[1] From here he founded and published the Birmingham Journal – the town's first known newspaper;[2] he edited and published Samuel Johnson's first book – a translation of Jerónimo Lobo’s Voyage to Abyssinia[3]—and with Joshua Kirton sold Francis Godwin's The Man in the Moone.[4] He also financed the cotton mill established by John Wyatt and Lewis Paul in 1741.[5] This was the world's first mechanised cotton-spinning factory, and was to pave the way for Richard Arkwright's later transformation of the cotton industry during the Industrial Revolution.[6]

The Paul-Wyatt cotton mill was not a financial success, however, and Warren declared bankruptcy in 1743.[1]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-19-812269-1. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 21 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Johnson in Birmingham". Revolutionary Players of Industry and Innovation. Museums, Libraries and Archives – West Midlands. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  3. ^ "Johnson Collection". Birmingham City Council. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  4. JSTOR 508383
  5. . Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  6. ^ Wadsworth, Alfred P.; De Lacy Mann, Julia (1931). "The First Cotton Spinning Factories". The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600–1780. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 431–447.