550 



same society, too, he contributed mainly towards the improvement of 

 the microscope, directing his attention from year to year to the various 

 schemes brought forward for perfecting that instrument, and seeking 

 by the offer of special prizes to call forth its improvement in those 

 points in which superior excellence was most to be desired. 



THOMAS TOOKE, Esq. was the eldest son of the Rev. William 

 Tooke, F.R.S., author of various literary works, and chaplain of the 

 English Factory at St. Petersburg. Thomas Tooke was born in that 

 city on the 29th of February, 1774 ; and after undergoing a general 

 education, entered early in life into active mercantile pursuits as part- 

 ner in one of the largest houses engaged in the Russian trade. 

 During this period, Mr. Tooke laid the foundation of that accurate 

 and surprising knowledge of detail in connection with commerce 

 and political economy which enabled him to raise, upon so wide and 

 solid a basis, the economical doctrines and discoveries inseparably 

 associated with his name. 



These assumed a palpable form in a work which he published in 

 1823, entitled " Thoughts and Details on High and Low Prices," 

 the prelude to his great work " The History of Prices," the first two 

 volumes of which appeared in 1838, the third and fourth in 1840 

 and 1847, and the two closing volumes, in which he was assisted by 

 Mr. Newmarch, in 1857. 



This remarkable work, evincing a rare combination of practical 

 wisdom, sound judgment, and great knowledge of commercial sta- 

 tistics, caused the author to be regarded as a most distinguished 

 writer on the science of political economy. The Royal Society 

 testified their sense of his merits by electing him a Fellow on the 

 publication of his first work, and the French Academy more recently 

 elected him a Corresponding Member. 



Nor were Mr. Tooke's labours confined to authorship. He was 

 an active participator in the inquiries and legislation connected with 

 the social reforms of the last five-and- twenty years. He took a lead- 

 ing part in the Factory Worker's Commission, and was the Chair- 

 man of the Commission for investigating the difficult subject of the 

 employment of children. For a long period he presided over the 

 Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation and the St. Katharine's 

 Dock Company ; and was one of the founders of the Statistical 





