Pishey Thompson
| Pishey Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Pishey Thompson in 1859 | |
| Born |
18 June 1785 Freiston, near Boston, Lincolnshire |
| Died |
1862 (aged 76–77) London |
| Occupation | Historian, Bank Clerk, Schoolmaster, Bookseller, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, advisor to the United States government |
| Employer | Sheath's Bank, Garfit and Claypon |
| Known for | The History and Antiquities of Boston |
| Relatives | Frank Harrison Hill (grandson) |
Pishey Thompson (1785–1862) was at various times a teacher, a bank employee, a political advisor, and an antiquary.
Thompson was born in Freiston, near Boston, on the 18th June 1785. Orphaned at the age of seven, he was brought up by his grandparents and became a schoolmaster in Freiston in 1801. He worked in Sheath's Bank until it closed in 1814, and then went to Garfits Bank as their First Clerk; he remained in employment there until he emigrated to the United States in 1819. He had an interesting career in Washington, D.C., including terms as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and as an adviser to the United States government. Initially he prospered in America, but his business eventually failed, and he returned to England penniless in 1841. He first published a history of Boston in 1820. This was later enlarged and revised to form the famous The History and Antiquities of Boston which was first published on the 23rd October 1856. He died in London, England, in 1862.
Bibliography
- "Pishey Thompson's Boston Diary, 18th October 1842-6th April 1844" - Reprinted in 1994 by Richard Kay - ISBN 0902662112
- "The History and Antiquities of Boston" - Reprinted in 1997 by Heritage Lincolnshire - ISBN 0948639202
- "Collections for a Topographical and Historical Account of Boston, and the Hundred of Skirbeck" - Reprinted in 2012 by Lightning Source UK Ltd - ISBN 1130940969