Thompson , Thomas Perronet , 1783-1869 , army officer and politician

Thomas Perronet Thompson was born in Kingston upon Hull in 1783. He was educated at Hull Grammar School and Queens' College Cambridge. He joined the navy in 1803, transferring to the army three years later and rising though the ranks of officers steadily to lieutenant-colonel by the time of his retirement from active service in 1829. After retiring he received several more promotions by brevet and was made a general the year before his death. Firmly opposed to slavery and exploitation, Thompson introduced extensive reforms whilst colonial governor of Sierra Leone (1808-1810). He was also interested in economics and politics, being active in the Anti-Corn Law League, writing several books, and serving as radical MP for Hull (1835-1837) and for Bradford (1847-1852, 1857-1859). He died in Blackheath, Kent in 1869.