Thomas Cook (businessman)
Thomas Cook was a pioneering English businessman born on November 22, 1808, in Melbourne, Derbyshire. He became known for founding one of the first and most successful travel companies in history. Initially a Baptist missionary and a member of the temperance movement, Cook's interest in travel began when he organized a train trip for the Leicester Temperance Society in 1841, marking the start of his travel business. His innovative approach included arranging affordable excursions that allowed many to experience train travel for the first time.
By 1845, Cook expanded his offerings to commercial trips, achieving significant success with organized tours to cities like Liverpool and Glasgow. He later introduced international travel, organizing trips to France and beyond, and established the first travel agency in London in the 1860s. Cook was also ahead of his time in providing financial security for travelers, introducing hotel coupons and circular notes, which enhanced the travel experience.
After retiring in 1879, his legacy lived on through his son and grandsons, ensuring that Thomas Cook's travel agency continued to operate and grow. Today, the company remains a prominent name in the global travel industry, serving millions of customers across various countries. Cook's life exemplifies the intersection of commerce, innovation, and a commitment to community service. He passed away on July 18, 1892, leaving behind a lasting impact on travel and tourism.
Thomas Cook
Businessman
- Born: November 22, 1808
- Birthplace: Melbourne, Derbyshire, England
- Died: July 18, 1892
- Place of death: Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Significance: Thomas Cook was a Baptist preacher who thought that alcohol was one of the most destructive forces in English society. He believed that travel would help expand people's minds and help them resist alcohol and other "sinful" temptations. In the 1840s, Cook started an international travel company that still exists today.
Background
Thomas Cook was born on November 22, 1808, in Melbourne, Derbyshire, England. His parents were John and Elizabeth Cook. Cook was the only child produced during their marriage, as John Cook died when he was only three. Elizabeth Cook then married James Smithard, who became Cook's stepfather.
This marriage gave Cook several stepsiblings. Smithard was a good father to Cook and paid for the boy's schooling. Cook's formal schooling ended around age ten, and he worked odd jobs, including working on a farm, for a time. All the while Cook continued to attend church, and religion remained a big part of his life.
In his twenties, Cook served as a Baptist missionary and preacher for a time. He also was part of the temperance movement, which advocated against people drinking alcohol. He often traveled to meetings of temperance societies in his area. However, he married a farmer's daughter named Marianne Mason in 1833 and needed to start his own business to support his new wife. Cook continued to be a faithful Baptist, but he returned to woodworking to provide for his family, which soon included his son, John Mason Cook.
Starting a Business
Cook regularly traveled to meetings of the Leicester Temperance Society. During his walks to Leicester, Cook began to think about travel. He thought about how it might help expand people's minds and prevent them from drinking alcohol and participating in other behaviors he considered sinful.
His ideas about travel truly began to take shape in 1841. A temperance rally was being held in the nearby town of Loughborough, and many of the Leicester Temperance Society's members wanted to attend. Cook saw a unique opportunity in the railroad that had just been built between the two towns. He arranged a train trip to the rally for members of the Leicester Temperance Society.
Cook made a deal with the railway operators, who were in need of new passengers. Many people in the area were unsure of the safety of train travel at the time. The railway gave Cook a fair rate on a chartered train if he promised to fill the cabs. Cook then charged each customer one shilling to cover the expenses for travel and lunch. The train trip was a huge success, with more than five hundred people traveling from Leicester to Loughborough to attend the rally.
Over the next three years, Cook continued to work with railways to offer trips to temperance societies and Sunday schools at a reduced rate. These affordable trips allowed many people to travel on a train for the first time in their lives. Cook earned little from these early excursions, but they helped establish trust with customers.
A Commercial Success
In 1845, Cook planned his first commercial trip to Liverpool. Before the trip, Cook went to Liverpool himself so he could recommend places to stay and various attractions in the city. He even made a guidebook for the trip. The trip to Liverpool was highly successful, and Cook was able to sell all 350 first- and second-class tickets that had been available.
His next excursion—a trip to Glasgow, Scotland—sold out as well. Cook continued arranging commercial tours around the United Kingdom and had great success. In 1851, he even arranged for 165,000 people to attend the Great Exhibition in London.
Soon, Cook was looking to expand his travel business to include destinations outside his home country. One of the first foreign trips Cook arranged was to the Paris Exhibition in France in 1855. Eventually, the railroads tried to cut Cook out of the travel business by offering their own reasonable fares directly to passengers. However, the businessman was not deterred. Cook offered to help guests find hotels once they arrived at their destination, and he started arranging trips to the beach. After the railroads started working with Cook again, he arranged trips to places such as Italy and Switzerland.
In the 1860s, Cook opened the first travel agency office in London. There, he arranged trips for customers, worked to promote the services of hotels and railroads, and sold guidebooks he had developed. His son, John Mason Cook, eventually joined him in the business. In 1865, John Mason Cook led the company's first tour to the United States. The company also offered a 222-day world tour that included stops in Europe, North America, Japan, China, and India.
In addition to arranging travel plans, Cook provided his customers with added financial security while they traveled. In 1868, he developed hotel coupons for customers to use to pay for their hotels. In 1874, he provided circular notes (early forms of traveler's checks) that were guaranteed by his company for certain amounts. This allowed customers to travel abroad without carrying paper money that could easily be stolen. Cook retired from his business in 1879. The company passed to John Mason Cook and later to his three sons.
Impact
Cook built one of the first and most successful travel companies. In the twenty-first century, his business continues to thrive. Thomas Cook remains one of the premier international travel groups, with sales of $10.5 billion (£7.5 billion) per year. Every year, millions of customers rely on the company, which operates in sixteen countries, to provide leisure travel services to places such as Greece, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Spain.
Personal Life
Cook was very wealthy by the end of his life. Yet, his religious morals were still a big part of who he was, and Cook often tried to help those in need by providing financial help or offering a place for people to stay. Cook died of a stroke on July 18, 1892, in Leicester.
Bibliography
Gilliland, Ben. "Cook, Thomas." 100 People Who Made History: Meet the People Who Shaped the Modern World, DK Publishing, 2012, pp. 110–11.
Hamilton, Jill. Thomas Cook: The Holiday Maker. The History Press, 2005.
Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. "Cook's Tours." The Civil War Era and Reconstruction: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History, Sharpe Reference, 2013, pp. 196–7.
"Thomas Cook: Father of the Tourist Trade." BBC, 6 June 2008, www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2008/05/10/thomas‗cook‗feature.shtml. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cook History." Thomas Cook, www.thomascook.com/thomas-cook-history/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cook Travel Inc." International Directory of Company Histories, edited by Paula Kepos, vol. 9, St. James Press, 1994, pp. 503–5.
"Travel and Travel Writing." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by William A. Darity Jr., 2nd ed., vol. 8, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008, pp. 442–4.