  thomas cook (22 november 1808&nbsp;â 18 july 1892) of melbourne, derbyshire, england founded the travel agency thomas cook & son (popularly nicknamed cook's tours) that became thomas cook ag before eventually becoming thomas cook group in 2007. == life == thomas cook was born to john and elizabeth cook, who lived at 9 quick close in the village of melbourne, derbyshire. the couple's first child, he was named after elizabeth's father, thomas perkins. john cook died when thomas was three years old, and his mother remarried later that same year. at the age of 10, cook started working as an assistant to a local market gardener for a wage of six pence a week. at the age of 14, he secured an apprenticeship with john pegg, and spent five years as a cabinet maker. he was brought up as a strict baptist, and joined his local temperance society. in february 1826, cook became a preacher, and toured the region as a village evangelist, distributing pamphlets, and occasionally working as a cabinet maker to earn money. after working as a part-time publisher of baptist and temperance pamphlets, he became a baptist minister in 1828. in 1832, cook moved to adam and eve street in market harborough. influenced by the local baptist minister francis beardsall, he took the temperance pledge on new year's day in 1833. as a part of the temperance movement, he organized meetings and held anti-liquor processions. on 3 march 1833, cook married marianne mason. john mason cook, their only son, was born on 13 january 1834. thomas cook died on 18 july 1892, having been afflicted with blindness in his declining years. == the first-ever excursions == thumb|panels from the thomas cook building in leicester, displaying excursions offered by thomas cook cook's idea to offer excursions came to him while walking from market harborough to leicester to attend a meeting of the temperance society.ingle r, 'thomas cook of leicester' with the opening of the extended midland counties railway, he arranged to take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from leicester campbell street station to a rally in loughborough, eleven miles away. on 5 july 1841, thomas cook arranged for the rail company to
1808_births 1892_deaths Burials_at_Welford_Road_Cemetery English_Baptists People_from_Melbourne,_Derbyshire Travel_and_holiday_companies_of_the_United_Kingdom