Thomas William Bowlby
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Thomas William Bowlby | |
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| Born | 7 January 1818 |
| Died | 22 September 1860(aged 42) |
| Resting place | Andingmen,Beijing, China (Memorial Paddington Old Cemetery) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Thomas William Bowlby(7 January 1818 – 22 September 1860) was a British correspondent forThe Timesin Germany and China in the 19th century. A "pioneer in the risky business of war reportage", his torture and death during theSecond Opium Warwas a factor in the British and French decision to raze theOld Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)in Beijing.[1]
Early life
[edit]Born inGibraltar,he was the son of Thomas Bowlby, a Captain in theRoyal Artillery,and Williamina Martha Arnold Balfour, daughter of Major-General William Balfour, a former Lieutenant-Governor ofNew Brunswick.Bowlby's parents moved while he was young toSunderland,where his father became a timber merchant. Bowlby was educated by Dr Cowan, a Scottish school teacher living in Sunderland.
After finishing his schooling he trained as a solicitor under his cousin Russell Bowlby of Sunderland and on completion of his training he moved to London where spent some years as a salaried clerk to a law firm inThe Temple.In 1846 he became junior partner to the firm of Lawrence, Crowdy and Bowlby. However, Bowlby found the law uncongenial and felt drawn to a career in writing.
Career
[edit]Although he remained as a member of the firm of Lawrence, Crowdy and Bowlby until 1854, Bowlby went toBerlinas a special correspondent forThe Timesin 1848 to report on the revolutions occurring in Europe at the time.
In 1860, Bowlby was engaged to travel to China as the special correspondent ofThe Timesto cover theSecond Opium War,which was fought by the ChineseQing Empireagainst the British and French.Lord ElginandBaron Groswere his fellow passengers on the steamshipSSMalabar,which sank inGalleharbour on 22May 1860 after beingbeachedin a severe storm. Bowlby's report of the shipwreck was considered one of his best pieces of work.
Bowlby's reports from China were informative and popular with readers ofThe Times.Whilst focusing on political and military developments, he also described many elements of local culture, such as gardening.[1]
Imprisonment and death
[edit]After the capture ofTientsin (Tianjin)on 23August 1860, Bowlby accompanied the British envoysHenry LochandHarry Smith Parkesand their escorts to Tungchow (present-dayTongzhou District, Beijing) to arrange apeace treatywith the Qing Empire. However, when the negotiations broke down, the Qing generalSengge Rinchenarrested Bowlby and the delegation.
Bowlby and the other captives were held at Tungchow and tortured, sometimes to death, over several days. Constricting ligatures were applied to their bodies; as they dried, they tightened. Those who cried out for water had dirt poured into their mouths. Bowlby died on 22September.[2]
In retaliation for the treatment of the delegation, the British and French burnt down the Qing Emperor'sOld Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)in Beijing. Lord Elgin reportedly told a French commander "What wouldThe Timessay of me, if I did not avenge its correspondent? "[2]
Bowlby's mangled body was retrieved later and buried in the Russian cemetery outside theAnding Gateof Beijing on 17October 1860. He was survived by his widow and five young children, among whom included the surgeonSir Anthony Alfred Bowlby.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abSchwarcz, Vera (2014).Place and Memory in the Singing Crane Garden.University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. pp. 79–80.ISBN978-0-8122-9173-5.OCLC934666375.
- ^ab"The palace of shame that makes China angry".BBC News.2 February 2015.
References
[edit]- Bowlby, Ronald (18 June 2004)."A Times man in war-torn China".The Times.Retrieved3 January2008.
- "Benjamin Bowlby and others".Retrieved8 August2007.
- "Thomas William Bowlby".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3064.Retrieved8 August2007.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- Bowlby, Thomas William; C.C. Bowlby (1906).An Account of the Last Mission and Death of Thomas William Bowlby.Privately printed by C.C. Bowlby.