Carlyle, Thomas: - Thomas Carlyle was a British writer, historian, and philosopher who was born on December 4, 1795, and died on February 5, 1881. He was from the Scottish Lowlands. He was one of the most important writers of the Victorian age and had a big impact on art, literature, and philosophy in the 1800s. Born in Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, Carlyle went to the University of Edinburgh and invented the Carlyle circle while there. When the arts course was over, he worked as a schoolmaster and studied to become a minister in the Burgher Church. He gave up on these and other things before he decided to write for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia and work as a translator. Early on, he was successful by introducing little-known German literature to English readers through translations, his 1825 book Life of Friedrich Schiller, and review essays he wrote for a number of magazines. His first big book was called Sartor Resartus and came out between 1833 and 1834. After moving to London, his book The French Revolution (1837) made him famous, which led to the collection and reissue of his writings as Miscellanies.