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22 November 1808 - 18 July 1892. English Baptist minister, businessman, and founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. 

'''Cultural and Societal Context'''

In the second half of the 19th century a new leisure and pleasure culture developed in Britain. This development was greatly influenced by an overall increase in prosperity, less working hours, and an expansion of the railway system. Weekend trips by train became popular for a large part of the population, as a result seaside resorts were being established (Schwanitz 381). A pioneer in the field of tourism was Thomas Cook, who can be said to be the inventor of modern tourism.

'''Cook and Tourism'''

In 1841 Cook arranged with the Midland Railway Company a special excursion train to bring people to a temperance meeting; the train ran from Leicester to Loughborough. Similar trips followed soon after. In 1845 Cook started to organize Midland Railway Company excursions and issued hotel tokens. Shortly thereafter he arranged complete holidays including trips from Leicester to Glasgow, from Leeds and Bradford to the Great Exhibition in 1851, and from Leicester to Calais for the 1855 Paris Exhibition (Royle 263).
In 1856 Cook led his fist Grand Tour of Europe. For those who could not afford the Grand Tour, he arranged so-called moon-light trips to Scarborough, whereby people could spend a whole day by the sea. He also offered day-excursions and Sunday school trips for children, provided by philanthropists; in 1856 2,000 children went from Newcastle to Edinburgh. That way children were also taken away from ‘temptation’ when there was a fair in town. By 1864 Cook took tourists to Switzerland and beyond. In the 1860s Cook became an agent for the sale of domestic and overseas travel tickets; the modern tourism industry was born (Royle 263-264). When Cook died in 1892 the company was passed on to his only son John Mason Cook (1834-1899). 

'''References'''
* Royle, Edward. Modern Britain. A Social History. 1750-1985. London: Arnold, 1987.
* Schwanitz, Dietrich. Englische Kulturgeschichte von 1500 bis 1914. Tübingen/Basel: Francke, 1995.
* “Thomas Cook.” Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 31 May. 2002. academic.ed.com/levels/collegiate/article/Thomas-Cook/26116. Accessed 5 Feb. 2021.
* “Thomas Cook.” Oxford Reference. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20010803104244860?print. Accessed 5 Feb.2021.