Thomas, Isaiah

Thomas, Isaiah, 1749–1831, American patriot and printer, from Worcester, Mass. Thomas printed outspoken Whig editorials in the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper that he helped to found. He fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord and after the Revolution settled in Worcester as a printer. He published in 1783 A Specimen of Isaiah Thomas's Printing Types, valued as evidence of the printing equipment of a leading American printer of the time. His other ventures included the Massachusetts Magazine (1789–95) and a folio Bible (1791). In 1810 he published the History of Printing in America, compiling during his research one of the most important collections of early American newspapers and pamphlets. He also founded and endowed the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester.

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Thomas, Isaiah (1749–1831) printer, publisher; born in Boston, Mass. The foremost 18th-century American publisher, he learned his trade as a young apprentice and in 1770 cofounded in Boston a tabloid called the Massachusetts Spy; soon becoming sole owner, he made it a pro-patriot organ. After fighting in the American Revolution, he returned to build up a prosperous printing, publishing, and retail bookselling business, centered in Worcester, Mass., with branches in several cities. Thomas published over 400 titles, including the most important literary works of the time. He published the first English-language Bible and first dictionary printed in America, the first American edition of the popular Mother Goose's Melody, and a speller that sold 300,000 copies. He was the first major U.S. publisher of children's books. Retiring in affluence in 1802, he wrote a well-regarded two-volume History of Printing in America (1810) and in 1812 founded the American Antiquarian Society.