Profiles

Thomas Cook, founder of the international travel agency, was born in Quick Close in Melbourne on 22nd November 1808.

Having been brought up a strict Baptist, young Cook had a string of jobs such as gardener, cabinet maker and printer, before becoming a Baptist Missionary when he was only twenty. As a missionary he received £36 per year as a salary but this was reduced by £10 as the people he visited were so hospitable.

In 1833, he married Marianne Mason, a farmer's daughter, a year older than Cook. Now married, Cook could no longer afford to be a preacher and set up his own business as a wood turner but remained a strict Baptist.

Journey into the unknown

Over ten years later, at a meeting of the Leicester Temperance Society, for which he had struggled to travel to get to, he started thinking about organising a trip for a rally in Loughborough.

At no small feat, Cook arranged for 570 people to take a specially chartered train with Midland Counties Railway in July 1841 at only a shilling per person.

This trip was so successful for Cook’s profit and the travellers’ enjoyment, Cook began to organise more excursions but keeping charges low. At this point, he adopted a novel position of being the world’s first travel agent.

Booked it, packed it…

The next step for the travel supremo was to organise package tours including travel, accommodation and food. Although when organising a trip to Scotland, the tour was plagued with problems and an article in a local paper led to Cook being declared bankrupt in 1846.

Cook continued to push himself and in 1851 he arranged for 165,000 people to attend the Great Exhibition in London. From this point travelling across the globe had no limits with Calais, Cologne and Egypt becoming the destinations of choice. Grand tours of both Europe and the USA followed.

Again he moved forward by not just offering group trips but for individual travellers and producing the first holiday brochures.

In 1860s, Thomas Cook and his only son, John Mason Cook, opened the first travel agency office in London under the now well-established Thomas Cook & Son selling tickets for domestic and international travel

Breakthroughs were somewhat common for Cook and in 1872 he organised a round the world tour.

Panicking about whether they had bureau de change desks in the 1800s? Don't worry, Cook's circular notes could be swapped for the local currency which would become the foundings of the Travellers Cheque.

Never forget your roots

Thomas Cook became a very wealthy man but kept his morals by all accounts. He provided fourteen cottages on the High Street in his home time for those in need. To add to this a laundry, bakehouse and Mission Hall were all gifts to the village.

He took his final trip abroad to the Holy Land in 1888.

Thomas Cook died after suffering a stroke on 18th July 1892 and is buried at the Welford Road Cemetery in Leicester where he spent the majority of his adult life.