1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy be 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: Wilson and Tracy. We have been traveling a lot lately. 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: I've been traveling a whole bunch and because of that, 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: I just started thinking, particularly when we were on our 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: trip to Paris, which was booked as a package, about 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: how package travel started. Yeah, Because like I often found 9 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: myself marveling at the people who managed our trips through 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: defined destinations. We're just handling the needs of fifty people 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: who all had differing desires and internal clocks and whatnot. 12 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: As we wandered around in a foreign country, and sometimes 13 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,639 Speaker 1: people got lost and they always managed to find them 14 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: and get I was just I marveled at the whole concept. 15 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: So that made me start to think about how this 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: whole thing began. And as I dug it did not 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: take very long to find the per and that most 18 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: people point to and say, this is a person who 19 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: started it. But I was surprised because the man most 20 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: often referenced as the father of the modern travel industry 21 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: was inspired not by some deep seated yearn to go 22 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: out and explore the world, but it was more inspired 23 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,279 Speaker 1: by his support of the Temperance movement and his deeply 24 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: held religious beliefs. So today we were talking about Thomas Cook, 25 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: but we're also talking about his son, John Mason Cook. Uh. 26 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: Modern travelers in the UK in particular are probably well 27 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: acquainted with the Cook name is now the name of 28 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: one of the largest travel agencies in the world, if 29 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: not the largest. But their family were really pioneers of 30 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: this idea of a travel agency to manage tourist holidays 31 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: and put together packages that could be sold for all 32 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: of your needs to be attended to. You just buy 33 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: one thing and then it's taken care of. Yeah, it 34 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: didn't start that way. That happened incrementally before they got 35 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: to the buy your one thing idea, but it really 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: you do see the progression of how this concept started 37 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: and how it it started to add on different pieces 38 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: until it became package travel. Thomas Cooke was born on 39 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: November twenty, eighteen o eight, in Derbyshire, England. His parents, 40 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: John and Elizabeth Cook were very poor and John worked 41 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: as a laborer. Died when Thomas was just four years old. 42 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: Elizabeth remarried to James Smith third not long after John's death. 43 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,959 Speaker 1: Thomas's formal education was rather brief. He attended school only 44 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: until the age of ten, and at that point he 45 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: started working as a helper to an estate gardener and 46 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 1: he worked in that position for four years, at which 47 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: point he became a cabinetry apprentice under his uncle John Peg. 48 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: When young Thomas became an apprentice, he also switched religious denominations. 49 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: Up until the age of fourteen, Thomas had attended a 50 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 1: Methodist Sunday school and that was intended to offer a 51 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: little bit of a supplemental education since he had to 52 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: go to work full time to help the family, and 53 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: that was a common pattern. Sunday schools in England during 54 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,239 Speaker 1: this time were intended to offer children a small amount 55 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: of ongoing education after they were required to join the workforce. Yeah, 56 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: very different I think from what we might think of 57 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: a Sunday school today. Um, not as much. I mean, 58 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: certainly there was religious uh study involved, but it was 59 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: also literally like sort of a standard education that was 60 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 1: getting conveyed. But though he had been attending Methodist Sunday 61 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: school for four years, at fourteen, Thomas started attending a 62 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: Baptist Sunday School John Peg. His new person that he 63 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: was apprenticing under was a Baptist, so that may have 64 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: had some influence in the switch, but Thomas's mother also 65 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: wanted her son to change churches. It appears that Thomas 66 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: was very diligent in his studies at this new school, 67 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: and he eventually started teaching there. He was eventually named 68 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: it superintendent. He hadn't been baptized yet, though that didn't 69 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: happen until February of eighteen twenty six, when he was seventeen. Yeah, 70 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: that kind of ties into that idea that Sunday school 71 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: is not the way we would think of Sunday school 72 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: in like modern America, for example. It really was not 73 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: quite the same deal. And I only know Catechism, which 74 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: is different than other religions Sunday schools, so I'm sure 75 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: I have a very um different concept of how the 76 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: whole thing works. Uh. Cook's religious devotion eventually supplanted his 77 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: work in cabinetry. After five years as his uncle's apprentice, 78 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: he left that job behind to become a missionary, and 79 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 1: his new job consisted of traveling from town to town 80 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: in rural England. In each town, he would distribute literature, 81 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: give sermons, and set up a Sunday school there. He 82 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: got paid thirty six pounds annually for the job, and 83 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: that amount was throttled back as he started to receive 84 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: aid from the people that he ministered to. While traveling 85 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: with his work, the twenty year old Cook met a 86 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: young woman named Marianne Mason, another Sunday school teacher who 87 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: was a year older than Thomas. Thomas and Marianne were 88 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: sweethearts for four years before they got married on March second, 89 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: thirty three. That's another thing that made me chuckle. In 90 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: some of the uh biographical writeups of him, people will 91 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: talk about what a long courtship that was. Where it's 92 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: again in the modern era of not so much uh. 93 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: Not only did Thomas's bachelor's status change to that of 94 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: husband in eighteen thirty three, he also changed jobs. He 95 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: returned to carpentry. His job as a missionary had ended 96 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: because the church could no longer fund his salary, so 97 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: he moved with Marianne to Market Harborough and opened up 98 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: a shop. On January thirty four. They welcomed his son, 99 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: John Mason Cook. In eighteen thirty five. They had another 100 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: child named Henry, but the second son died while still 101 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: a baby. They didn't have any more children until the 102 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: mid eighteen forties, when their daughter Annie was born. In 103 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty six, the Cooks took a strong stand for temperance. 104 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: They felt that liquor was causing all manner of social problems. 105 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: This was a pretty popularly circulated idea at the time, 106 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: and they decided that they wanted to lead by example 107 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: in their own lives. So they both signed a pledge 108 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: of temperance, and they also vowed that no one who 109 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: worked for them would have access to alcohol while on 110 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: their property. But Thomas was not content to do just that. 111 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: He started really throwing his time and his efforts into 112 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: promoting temperance. In the latter half of the eighteen thirties, 113 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:15,679 Speaker 1: Cook reached back to his preaching days. At this time, 114 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: he started to preach the importance of temperance and the 115 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: dangers of alcohol. He wrote and distributed pamphlets with these 116 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: same messages. He also started setting up recreational events that 117 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: were alcohol free. They were social gatherings called rational recreation, 118 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: where the activities were wholesome and the hardest liquid serve 119 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: was ginger beer. He also founded a periodical called the 120 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: Children's Temperance Magazine in eighteen forty and it was Cook's 121 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: temperance efforts and his desire to put together activities that 122 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: would offer fun and socializing without alcohol that led him 123 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: to start setting up travel activities. In June of eighteen 124 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: forty one, while he was walking to a Temperance meeting 125 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: in Lester, near his home, he had a bolt of inspiration. 126 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: He realized that developments in transportation that had been part 127 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: of the Industrial Revolution, and in particular railroads, could be 128 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: used to spread the word about Temperance farther than ever before. 129 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: He was walking to a meeting in Lester when he 130 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: had this idea, and when he got there, Cook outlined 131 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: as planned the attendees. He pitched the plan that they 132 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: would hire a train specifically to get their members to 133 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: another meeting farther away the next month. Everybody thought this 134 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: was a great idea, so he reached out to the 135 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: Midland Railway to try to make the arrangements and they 136 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: were completely open to it. So on July fivet one, 137 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: just a month after he had his idea, Thomas led 138 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: a group of five hundred members of the Temperance movement 139 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: on a trip. It was a train ride from Leicester 140 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: to Leughtboro to attend a meeting in a lecture there, 141 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: and each attendee paid a shilling for the trip that 142 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: was arranged by Cook. And this trip went very, very smoothly, 143 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: and its success led Cook to plan for more. I 144 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: just want to say, five people is a lot of people. 145 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: That is a lot of people. I'm mentioned at the 146 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: top of the show how I marveled at managing fifty 147 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: people on a trip. Five hundred seems bananas. To bolster 148 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: the whole enterprise, Cook wanted to be in a bigger 149 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: city to have greater access to travel resources. So to 150 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: that end, he and his family moved to Leicester. The 151 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: Temperance and Baptist community there was much larger, and he 152 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: was also able to expand his business with an id 153 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: using these businesses to promote Temperance. He started printing temperance 154 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: literature in his own print shop and he also opened 155 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: a bookstore to sell that literature in He also printed 156 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: and sold guide books and almanacs through this system, and 157 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: next he opened to Temperance hotels. The first in Derby 158 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: was managed by his mother Elizabeth, and his wife Mary 159 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: Anne managed the second, which was in Lester. Coming up, 160 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: we'll talk about how Thomas transitioned from wrangling groups of 161 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: temperance supporters to managing travel as a business, but first 162 00:08:54,240 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: we'll pause for a sponsor break. Thomas Cook had since 163 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: that first rail trip from Leicester to Leftboro in eighteen 164 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: forty one, continued to arrange trips for temperance supporters to 165 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: attend meetings and share their ideology throughout England. But in 166 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: eighteen forty five he decided to actually make a business 167 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: out of it, running tours for profit. He had a 168 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: really good network of contacts within the railways at this point, 169 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: and he had already made a name for himself as 170 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: an efficient and trustworthy organizer of group excursions, so he 171 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: was starting this enterprise from a very strong position. Cook's 172 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: first for profit itinerary went to Liverpool, with starting points 173 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: for travelers at Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. This included excursions 174 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: to Canarvon and a hike up Mount Snowdon. He was 175 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,439 Speaker 1: conscious of the fact that even on his previous temperance 176 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: oriented trips, for a lot of the people traveling it 177 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: was a really new experience, and to that end he 178 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: produced a handbook for the three d fifty people on 179 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: this Liverpool tour, offering them both practical whole advice and 180 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: encouragement to abstain from drink while enjoying the journey. This 181 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: handbook was the first of many he assembled them for 182 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: all of us tours after this point. First class tickets 183 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: cost fifteen shillings and second class was ten shillings. Travelers 184 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: could also opt into a steamer cruise to North Wales 185 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: for an additional fee. The Liverpool Tour was a far 186 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: more ambitious project than any of Thomas Cook's Temperance trips 187 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,559 Speaker 1: had been, but it went well. So well the Cooks 188 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: started to set his sights on expanding to new destinations, 189 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: and he decided, after he had done some of these 190 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,439 Speaker 1: Liverpool trips that the next excursion he wanted to offer 191 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: would go to Scotland. The Scotland Tour was scheduled for 192 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: the summer of eighteen forty six, and it was Thomas 193 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: Cook's first real flop since he started planning group travel. 194 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: The several hundred people who had booked had been told 195 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: that they would be able to disembark from the train 196 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: they were on when it made stops along the way 197 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: to the coast, and there they were going to board 198 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: a steamer to Scotland, but it turned that train passengers 199 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: were not allowed to get off and on it stops. 200 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: The train also didn't have bathrooms and it didn't offer 201 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: food service, so by the time the group got to 202 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: the coast they were already miserable. The next leg of 203 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: the trip was aboard the steamer or Drawson, which was 204 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,199 Speaker 1: also a problem. Cook had booked more people than there 205 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: were cabins. There appears to have been a miscommunication between 206 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: him and the steamer uh so some of the group 207 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: had to hang out on the deck and they got 208 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: drenched in a storm that came along while they made 209 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: this crossing. But once the group arrived in Scotland, they 210 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: were warmly welcomed with marching bands and other fanfare, and 211 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: from that point it seems to have gone okay. Reviews 212 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: of this tour were unsurprisingly unkind. Part of the criticism 213 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: was Thomas Cook's unrelenting devotion to temperance, which he preached 214 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: to all his tour groups. This summer of problems caused 215 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: a temporary halt to Cook's travel business. He was also 216 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: seeing new competitors emerged in the publishing market, some of 217 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: whom were printing books and pamphlets on Temperance as well. Yeah, 218 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: so he had he had kind of planned on this 219 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: this travel thing going well, and it started well and 220 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: then wasn't. And then this other area of the market 221 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: that he had cornered was suddenly having some competitors and 222 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:14,559 Speaker 1: he just kind of needed to regroup. So he slowly 223 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: rebuilt his business over the next couple of years, and 224 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight he was once again up and 225 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: running with his tours, publishing and his Temperance hotels. For 226 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: the next couple of years after that he launched successful 227 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: tours to Scotland and Ireland. And then a new opportunity 228 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: presented itself to Cook in the form of the Great 229 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: Exposition of eighteen fifty one, which has made numerous appearances 230 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 1: on the podcast over the years. Cook booked travel arrangements 231 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: for more than a hundred and fifty thousand people to 232 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: go to the Great Exposition. To bolster his travel business, 233 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: he also started publishing the periodical slash travel catalog, Cook's 234 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: Exhibition Herald, an excursion advertiser. This effort to create Exposition 235 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,479 Speaker 1: tours was incidentally made it the urging of previous podcast 236 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: subject and Crystal List architect Sir Joseph Paxton, who hoped 237 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,319 Speaker 1: that Cook would make it possible for the workers outside 238 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: of London to see the hall. Paxston remained a supporter 239 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: of Cook's work long after the Exposition, and Cook's Exhibition 240 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: Harold was later published under the name Cook's Excursionist. And 241 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: after the Great Expo, Thomas Cook built his offerings up 242 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: to meet new levels of demand because he had become 243 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: very well known while planning all of those trips, he 244 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: started offering an assortment of trips that travelers could choose 245 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: from throughout England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. These were not, 246 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: we should note, all inclusive tours. Cook's agency booked travel 247 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: and outlined itineraries and provided guide books, but tourists were 248 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: responsible for booking their own lodging and getting their own food. 249 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: And as his travel business grew, Thomas Cook ceased operation 250 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: of his printing efforts so that he could focus more 251 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: on tourism. He still printed guide books, but he wasn't 252 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: running his own print shop. After a decade of growth 253 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 1: and expansion within his established roots, Cook expanded his offerings 254 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: to a wider range of destinations on the European continent. 255 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: This was in part because his tours in Scotland ran 256 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: into a problem, which is that the rail companies in 257 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: Scotland stopped offering him discounted group rates for the trains. 258 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: And so to expand into this new phase of business 259 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: cooked in two things. First, he opened another office in London. 260 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: Similar to the reasons that he moved to Lester. This 261 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: shift to London offered greater resources and more access to 262 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: a wider clientele. And second, he started creating more comprehensive bookings, 263 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: ones that did include lodging and meals as well as 264 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: railroad travel and channel crossings. In eighteen fifty five, Thomas 265 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: Cook mounted his first European continental tour to coincide with 266 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 1: another exposition, this time the Exposition Universale in Paris. This 267 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: trip hit a lot of other spots before landing at 268 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: the expo, though from England, the group traveled to Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, 269 00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: Heidelberg and Strasbourg before finishing in Paris. And addition into 270 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: booking the trip as a comprehensive package, he also offered 271 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 1: a currency exchange service to his travelers, yea At this point, 272 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: he was offering literally like full service travel. By the 273 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: fall of eighteen sixty three, Cook had book travel to 274 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: Switzerland for an estimated five hundred tourists and to France 275 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: for about two thousand. The rapid growth of his expanded 276 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: offerings led to Cook being nicknamed the Napoleon of excursions, 277 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: and before long a Cook's tour became synonymous with guided 278 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: tourist experiences. In eighteen sixty five, the business shifted once again, 279 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: this time because Cook's son, John Mason Cook, started working 280 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 1: for the firm full time. Over the next six years, 281 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: John helped his father expand the company significantly, so that 282 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: by eighteen seventy one there were three offices for the 283 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: firm in England, each with a full staff. John was 284 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: made partner that year and the firm became Thomas Cook 285 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: and Son. John had been highly instrumental in getting Cook's 286 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: company into booking travel across the Atlantic, and he had 287 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: streamlined the way the business rands make everything more efficient. 288 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: But even so, John had been really reluctant to step 289 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: into the role of partner. After the popularity of Thomas 290 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: Cook and Son's offering for travel to France and Switzerland, 291 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: the firm started offering tours to Italy as well. As 292 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: we mentioned, John helped get across the Atlantic, so a 293 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: United States itinerary was soon made available, and then they 294 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: offered trips to Egypt and Israel. And as Cook's travel 295 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: agency entered the eighteen seventies, he was as always thinking 296 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: bigger in terms of where he could go. The advertisements 297 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: for the company at this point read a Cook's Ticket 298 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: brings the World to you, and Thomas Cook seemed really 299 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: intent on delivering on that promise. It was this attitude 300 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: that led him to offer the first ever Round the 301 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 1: World tourist itinerary. It was ambitious, but Cook was driven 302 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: by his religious faith just as much as any business ambition. 303 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: He wanted to continue to share his religious views and 304 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: show people the world, simultaneously, believing that in doing so 305 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: he would help promote global peace. To that end, he 306 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: traveled along with his clients on the company's first Round 307 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 1: the World excursion, which ran from eighteen seventy two eighteen 308 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 1: seventy three. It took two hundred twenty two days, and 309 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: his being there was possible in part because he had 310 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,360 Speaker 1: John to manage the offices back home. But despite trusting 311 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: John to handle a lot of the business. Thomas and 312 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: his son had problems, and we are going to get 313 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: into that after we take a break and hear from 314 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 1: one of the sponsors that keeps stuff you missed in 315 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:35,159 Speaker 1: history class going. Thomas and John Cook did not always 316 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: agree on how their business should run, even though John 317 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: was made a partner, and this ultimately caused serious problems there. 318 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: I read some historians that suggested that like the two 319 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: of them had such different approaches that they would have 320 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: been terribly complimentary if it weren't for the fact that 321 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 1: they were continuously butting heads. Uh So. While Thomas was 322 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: shepherding that First World Tour, for example, John settled the 323 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 1: firm's main offices into a new, fancier and more expensive location. 324 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,160 Speaker 1: When Thomas returned, the travel agency started a business partnership 325 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: with an American partner, and that turned disastrous. The idea 326 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: was that combining their efforts with a business interest on 327 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: the other side of the Atlantic was going to bolster 328 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: travel bookings from North America to Europe and vice versa, 329 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: but that did not work out. Over the next several years, 330 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,640 Speaker 1: Thomas and John were increasingly at odds and the US 331 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: partnership fell apart, which added even more strain to the relationship. 332 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: Even as they successfully moved on to new ventures, including 333 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: offering cruises, they didn't seem to celebrate as much as 334 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 1: they seemed to argue, and the main issue between them 335 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: was that they just felt completely differently as I said, 336 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: about how their business should run. Thomas had always dreamed 337 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: big in terms of trips, but he wasn't especially concerned 338 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: with turning huge profits as long as they were making 339 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: some profit. He basically seemed to just want enough to 340 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: provide for his family and then donate pretty generously to 341 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: the various charities that he supported. John, on the other hand, 342 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,400 Speaker 1: envisioned much grander things. He really believed that they could 343 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: be much more financially lucrative, and he thought that his 344 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: father's approach to business was too soft and inefficient and 345 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: that his father was a little bit of a billy dreamer. Additionally, 346 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: John wanted Thomas to keep his religious and temperance views 347 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: out of their tours and maintain those interests as personal matters, 348 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: not business. This strife between Thomas and John wasn't exactly new. 349 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: It had basically been there ever since John was young. 350 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: There was a time as a very young man just 351 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: out of school, when John had worked in Thomas's print 352 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 1: shop and had worked on some of the tours, but 353 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 1: the two of them had butted heads so often that 354 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,439 Speaker 1: John left to work for a railway company. Even when 355 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: John returned to work for his father in eighteen sixty five, 356 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: it had been because he had a wife and a 357 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: child to support, not because the two of them actually 358 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 1: wanted to work together. Things eventually came to a head 359 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy eight and father and son had a 360 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: massive fight. The end result, although we don't have details 361 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: on how exactly this decision was reached, was that Thomas 362 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: removed himself from the business entirely. He moved full time 363 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: back to Lester, where he had built a large house, 364 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,479 Speaker 1: and he just let John run things as he wished, 365 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: but their relationship was damaged beyond repair. As the firm 366 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: was transitioning in leadership from father to son, John established 367 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: a new department at the firm, foreign Banking and Money Exchange, 368 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,120 Speaker 1: and then through this division, the company started issuing credit 369 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: notes for travelers, which evolved into travelers checks. It has 370 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: proved to be a very lucrative enterprise that makes traveler's 371 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:41,239 Speaker 1: checks older than I imagined. Yeah, I think they were 372 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: first calling them circular checks. Uh. And yeah, they eventually 373 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: set this up again. John, I mean, was very smart 374 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: about business, and his father was very smart about putting 375 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: the other compelling tours. And if they could just have 376 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:56,479 Speaker 1: lived in harmony, they probably could have done even more 377 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: amazing things than they did. John also started to electing 378 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: new destinations for the firm, including India, New Zealand and Australia. 379 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: The New Zealand and Australian tours made plenty of money, 380 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: India not so much. Uh. John also negotiated government contracts 381 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: for Thomas Cook and Son. So when England sent a 382 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,959 Speaker 1: force to relieve Major General Charles George Gordon, who had 383 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: become embroiled in a conflict with the Mahdi of Sudan 384 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 1: in the city of Khartoum, against the government's wishes, that 385 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: trip was managed by Thomas Cook and Son. Incidentally, that 386 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 1: relief effort arrived too late, Gordon's stronghold had fallen and 387 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: he had already been killed. That is a whole other 388 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: potential podcast episode. Under John Mason Cook, the firm also 389 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 1: transported Indian royalty to London to celebrate the queens to 390 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,399 Speaker 1: jubilees and what seemed initially like a move his father 391 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 1: would have made. John also assisted in the transport of 392 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Eventually, though, even though this was 393 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: part of a mission initialized by the British Government's India Office, 394 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: Cooks bears were too high that deal and did. Thomas 395 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: and his wife Mary Anne lived in his retirement, during 396 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: which he was getting a pension from his son, with 397 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: their daughter Annie, who had never married, and two years 398 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 1: after they moved into the house that was called Thorncroft. 399 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: That was that large house that Thomas had built in Leicester. 400 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: There was a tragic loss when Annie died in her bathtub. 401 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: The gas fumes from a new heater were determined to 402 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: have been the cause, and Thomas's wife, Mary Anne died 403 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: four years later in eighteen eighty four. Thomas Cook continued 404 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: his life quietly outside of the company. He continued to 405 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,959 Speaker 1: travel and to work with the church in the Temperance movement. 406 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: He did eventually lose his sight. In one Thomas, Cook 407 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,640 Speaker 1: and son celebrated the company silver jubilee. Thomas did not attend, 408 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 1: although it is unknown whether that was his choice, perhaps 409 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 1: because his health was not great or because his son 410 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: did not want him there. The firm celebrated their immense 411 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: success without their founder. At that point, the company had 412 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: eighty four offices and more than employees, and the next 413 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: in line to run things were John three sons. Although 414 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: John continued to head things up for a while, and 415 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 1: he even expanded the company once again to include a 416 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: fleet of steamers that offered Nile River cruises. John did 417 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: make a move that seemed a little bit more like 418 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: something his father would have done when he paid for 419 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,160 Speaker 1: a hospital to be built in Egypt. The year after 420 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: the company's celebration, Thomas died that was on July. He 421 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: had had a stroke. He was buried in Leicester on July. 422 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,640 Speaker 1: As obituary in The Times referred to him and John 423 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,120 Speaker 1: as the Julius and Augustus Caesar of travel. Thomas's will 424 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: was at odds with his existing worth. At the time 425 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: of his death. His estate was worth roughly dred pounds, 426 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: but the amount that he bequeathed in his will was 427 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: four thousand, two hundred twenty five pounds, which has left 428 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,880 Speaker 1: some historians puzzling over what exactly happened to the great 429 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: fortune that he had made, and while he was very 430 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: generous throughout his life, believing that it was his duty 431 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 1: as a religious man to help others in need. For example, 432 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: he had arranged everything from soup kitchens to the building 433 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: of cottage for the poor over the years. Uh there 434 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 1: is still a lot of puzzling over how exactly he 435 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: ended up with so little. John didn't even break stride 436 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: in terms of business after his father died. He had 437 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: become very much a social climber, and whenever any royalty 438 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,360 Speaker 1: books travel with the firm, he personally escorted them during 439 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: their journey. When the first modern Olympic Games took place 440 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: in Athens in eighteen ninety six, John made sure that 441 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: the Cook firm was their travel partner. In eighteen ninety eight, 442 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 1: while escorton Kaiserville, Hell in the second on a trip 443 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: to the Holy Land, John Cook became ill, most likely 444 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: with dysenterry, and though John returned home, he continued to 445 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,640 Speaker 1: be unwell for several months leading up to his death 446 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: on March six. Johnson's Frank Ernest and Burt took over 447 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: the travel agency and it's many offices, and the company 448 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: continued to flourish. They kept printing The Excursionist, although the 449 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 1: name was changed to Travelers Gazette, and in nineteen nineteen 450 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 1: they became the first UK travel agent to offer air bookings. 451 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: Thomas Cook's grandsons sold the business in to a Belgian 452 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: firm for three point five million pounds, and the firm 453 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 1: that Cook started still exists under the name Thomas Cook, 454 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: although in recent times it has had some struggles. In 455 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 1: May of this year, which is The Guardian reported that 456 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: the company lost one point five billion euros due to 457 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: bregit uncertainty. People were canceling trips because they didn't know 458 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,640 Speaker 1: what was going to happen next. And then a few 459 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: weeks later reports hitting the news that Folson International, that's 460 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 1: the Chinese conglomerate that owns Club Med was interested in 461 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,959 Speaker 1: purchasing the company and the company was talking with them still. 462 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: A June eighteenth article in Travel Weekly announced plans for 463 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: the Thomas Cook Company to open two new hotels in Egypt, 464 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: and the day before we recorded this, but a little 465 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: while before you will hear it, they announced their move 466 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: of their digital marketing office to Manchester from London and 467 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 1: new efforts to market their airline division. So regardless of 468 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: what happens next to the company bears his name. It 469 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: was really Thomas Cook that set the stage for the 470 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: industry of tourism as we know it today. Whenever he 471 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: selected a destination as an offering, it became a standard 472 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: vacation spot for his clients. And this way he planted 473 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: the seeds of this industry which now drives the economies 474 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: of many countries and many individual places within countries. Yeah, 475 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: it's really fascinating to think about. Like he would basically say, like, 476 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: I think we should start going to Switzerland, and people 477 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: would start going to Switzerland, and then towns that he 478 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: went to in Switzerland would be like, we have a 479 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,959 Speaker 1: booming tourist economy, we should court tourism, and like that 480 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,439 Speaker 1: cycle would happen over and over and over. Uh. And 481 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: in many ways, he really ended up kind of shifting 482 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,360 Speaker 1: the way that that various areas managed their their economics 483 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: because that, again, tourism is a big business. Um. Do 484 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 1: you want to hear about a fun card? I sure do. 485 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 1: Is very very cute. Uh, it is from our listeners 486 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: Shelby and Shelby has the most spectacular penmanship. She rises 487 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: dear Holly and Tracy, I've listened to stuff you missed 488 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,920 Speaker 1: in history class for years, even before y'all were the hosts. 489 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: I have always loved history, and I have learned so 490 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: much from the podcast. I've wanted to write in and 491 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,360 Speaker 1: send you something for a long time, but only recently 492 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: finally found something I thought you might like. It's stickers 493 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: of cats and space. I don't have a cat, but 494 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: I know y'all are big fans of felines. Hope you 495 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,920 Speaker 1: like them. Thanks for all your hard work, UH informing 496 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: me and many others throughout the years. She writes, PS, 497 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: there are a couple of non feline space stickers, but 498 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 1: they also still reminded me of y'all. And then PPS. 499 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: I don't have any pets currently, but I do love 500 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: drawing them and I do commissions occasionally. You can check 501 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,440 Speaker 1: out her instagram, which is at artful Vice. She doesn't 502 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: really really beautiful work, and these cat stickers are adorable, 503 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:51,199 Speaker 1: and it really is sort of the intersection of so 504 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: many things that delight me that um, I could not 505 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,479 Speaker 1: be more enthused. I love them so she'd have heard 506 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 1: to think of us. Thank you so much, Shelby. I 507 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 1: love the stickers. Thank you for them with Tracy when 508 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: she comes in a couple of weeks UH, and we 509 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: will get them all sorted out. If you would like 510 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: to write to us, you should do that. You can 511 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: do it at history podcast at how stuff works dot com. 512 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media as Missed 513 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 1: in History pretty much everywhere. Missed in History dot com 514 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: is also where to go if you want to visit 515 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,800 Speaker 1: us online, and there you will find an archive of 516 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,120 Speaker 1: every episode that has ever existed. UH. If you would 517 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,199 Speaker 1: like to subscribe to the podcast, we would like you 518 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: to subscribe to the podcast. You can do that on 519 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,199 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, at Apple Podcasts, or wherever 520 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: else you listen. Stuffy Missed in History Class is a 521 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios how stuff Works. For more podcasts. 522 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: For my heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 523 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.