1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Thomas Cook was born on November twenty second, 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: eighteen oh eight, or two hundred and seventeen years ago today, 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: on the day this episode is publishing. Cook founded his 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: own travel agency in the nineteenth century, and he's seen 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,799 Speaker 1: as one of the founders of the package travel industry. 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: At the end of this episode, we talked about the 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: company Cook founded and what the business grew involved into, 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: and when we recorded the episode, Thomas Cook Group was 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: having some financial difficulties. Then in September of twenty nineteen, 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: it collapsed and that left roughly one hundred and fifty 11 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: thousand travelers stranded overseas with all their bookings canceled. We 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: talked about that a little bit in an installment of Unearthed. 13 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: The following month, Thomas Cook Group's biggest shareholder, Folksin International, 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: purchased all the branding and all of its assets and 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: they relaunched the business as an online travel agency in 16 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: November of twenty nineteen, and then Polish travel technology company 17 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,039 Speaker 1: East Sky Group acquired the business from Folsen in twenty 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: twenty four. This episode originally came out on July eighth, 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. Enjoy Welcome to Stuff You missed in History Class, 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 21 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frye and I'm Tracy B. Wilson and Tracy. 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: We have been traveling a lot lately. I've been traveling 23 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: a whole bunch, and because of that, I just started thinking, 24 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: particularly when we were on our trip to Paris, which 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: was booked as a package, about how package travel started. Yeah, 26 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: Because like I often found myself marveling at the people 27 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: who managed our trips through defined destinations were just handling 28 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: the needs of fifty people who all had differing desires 29 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: and internal clocks and whatnot. As we wandered around in 30 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: a foreign country, and sometimes people got lost and they 31 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: always managed to find them and get I was just 32 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: I marvel at the whole concept. So that made me 33 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: start to think about how this whole thing began. And 34 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: as I dug it did not take very long to 35 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: find the person that most people point to and say, 36 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: this is the person who started it. But I was 37 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: surprised because the man most often referenced as the father 38 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: of the modern travel industry was inspired not by some 39 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: deep seated yearn to go out and explore the world, 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: but it was more inspired by his support of the 41 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: Temperance movement and has deeply held religious beliefs. So today 42 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: we were talking about Thomas Cook, but we were also 43 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: talking about his son, John Mason Cook. Modern travelers in 44 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 1: the UK in particular are probably well acquainted with the 45 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 1: Cook name is now the name of one of the 46 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: largest travel agencies in the world, if not the largest. 47 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: But their family were really pioneers of this idea of 48 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: a travel agency to manage tourist holidays and put together 49 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: packages that could be sold for all of your needs 50 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: to be attended to. He just buyerr one thing and 51 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: then it's taken care of. Yeah, it didn't start that way. 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: That happened incrementally before they got to the buyer one 53 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: thing idea. But really you do see the progression of 54 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: how this concept started and how it started to add 55 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: on different pieces until it became package travel. Thomas Cook 56 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: was born on November twenty second, eighteen o eight, in Derbyshire, England. 57 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: His parents, John and Elizabeth Cook were very poor, and 58 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: John worked as a laborer and died when Thomas was 59 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: just four years old. Elizabeth remarried to James Smithard not 60 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: long after John's death. Thomas's formal education was rather brief. 61 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: He attended school only until the age of ten, and 62 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: at that point he started working as a helper to 63 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: an estate gardener and he worked in that position for 64 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: four years, at which point he became a cabinetry apprentice 65 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: under his uncle John Peg. When young Thomas became an apprentice, 66 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: he also switched religious denominations. Up until the age of fourteen, 67 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: Thomas had attended a Methodist Sunday School and that was 68 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: intended to offer a little bit of a supplemental education 69 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: since he had to go to work full time to 70 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: help the family, and that was a common pattern. Sunday 71 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: schools in England during this time were intended to offer 72 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: children a small amount of ongoing education after they were 73 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: required to join the workforce. Yeah, very different I think 74 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: from what we might think of as Sunday school today. 75 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: Not as much. I mean, certainly there was religious study involved, 76 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,679 Speaker 1: but it was also literally like sort of a standard 77 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: education that was getting conveyed. But though he had been 78 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: attending Methodist Sunday school for four years, at fourteen Thomas 79 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: started attending a Baptist Sunday school. John Peg his new 80 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: person that he was apprenticing under was a Baptist, so 81 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: that may have had some influence in the switch, but 82 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: Thomas's mother also wanted her son to change churches. It 83 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: appears that Thomas was very diligent in his studies at 84 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: this new school, and he eventually started teaching there. He 85 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: was eventually named it superintendent. He hadn't been baptized yet, 86 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: though that didn't happen until February of eighteen twenty six, 87 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: when he was seventeen. Yeah, that kind of ties into 88 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: that idea that Sunday school is not the way we 89 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: would think of Sunday school in like modern America, for example. 90 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: It really was not quite the same deal. And I 91 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: only know Catechism, which is different than other religions Sunday schools, 92 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: so I'm sure I have a very different concept of 93 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: how the whole thing works. Cook's religious devotion eventually supplanted 94 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: his work in cabinetry. After five years as his uncle's apprentice, 95 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: he left that job behind to become a missionary, and 96 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: his new job consisted of traveling from town to town 97 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: in rural England. In each town, he would distribute literature, 98 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: give sermons, and set up a Sunday school there. He 99 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: got paid thirty six pounds annually for the job, and 100 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: that amount was throttled back as he started to receive 101 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: aid from the people that he ministered to. While traveling 102 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: with his work, the twenty year old Cook met a 103 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: young woman named mary Anne Mason, another Sunday school teacher 104 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: who was a year older than Thomas. Thomas and mary 105 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: Anne were sweethearts for four years before they got married 106 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: on March second, eighteen thirty three. That's another thing that 107 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: made me chuckle. In some of the biographical write ups 108 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 1: of him, people will talk about what a long courtship 109 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: that was. Where it's again in the modern era, not 110 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: so much. Not only did Thomas's bachelor's status change to 111 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: that of husband in eighteen thirty three, he also changed jobs. 112 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: He returned to carpentry. His job as a missionary had 113 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: ended because the church could no longer fund his salary, 114 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: so he moved with Marianne to Market Harborough and opened 115 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: up a shop on January thirteenth, eighteen thirty four. They 116 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: welcomed a son, John Mason Cook. In eighteen thirty five, 117 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: they had another child named Henry, but the second son 118 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: died while still a baby. They didn't have any more 119 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: children until the mid eighteen forties. When their daughter Annie 120 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: was born. In eighteen thirty six, the Cooks took a 121 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: strong stand for temperance. They felt that liquor was causing 122 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: all manner of social problems. This was a pretty popularly 123 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: circulated idea at the time, and they decided that they 124 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: wanted to lead by example in their own lives. So 125 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: they both signed a pledge of temperance, and they also 126 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: vowed that no one who worked for them would have 127 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: access to alcohol while on their property. But Thomas was 128 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: not content to do just that. He started really throwing 129 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: his time and his efforts into promoting temperance. In the 130 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: latter half of the eighteen thirties, Cook reached back to 131 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: his preaching days. At this time, he started to preach 132 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: the importance of temperance and the dangers of alcohol. He 133 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: wrote and distributed pamphlets with these same messages. He also 134 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: started setting up recreational events that were alcohol free. They 135 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: were social gatherings called rational recreation, where the activities were 136 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: wholesome and the hardest liquid serve was ginger beer. He 137 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: also founded a periodical called the Children's Temperance Magazine in 138 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: eighteen forty and it was Cook's temperance efforts and his 139 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: desire to put together activities that would offer fun and 140 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: socializing without alcohol that led him to start setting up 141 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: travel activities. In June of eighteen forty one, while he 142 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: was walking to a Temperance meeting in Lester, near his home, 143 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: he had a bolt of inspiration. He realized that developments 144 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: in transportation that had been part of the Industrial Revolution, 145 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: and in particular railroads, could be used to spread the 146 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: word about Temperance farther than ever before. He was walking 147 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: to a meeting in Leicester when he had this idea, 148 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: and when he got there, Cook outlined his planned the attendees. 149 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: He pitched the plan that they would hire a train 150 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: specifically to get their members to another meeting farther away 151 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: the next month. Everybody thought this was a great idea, 152 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: so he reached out to the Midland Railway to try 153 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: to make the arrangements and they were completely open to it. 154 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: So on July fifth of eighteen forty one, just a 155 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: month after he had his idea, Thomas led a group 156 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: of five hundred members of the Temperance movement on a trip. 157 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: It was a train ride from Leicester to Lufborough to 158 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: attend a meeting and a lecture there, and each attendee 159 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: paid a shilling for the trip that was arranged by Cook. 160 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: And this trip went very, very smoothly, and its success 161 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: led Cook to plan for more. I just want to say, 162 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: five hundred people is a lot of people. That is 163 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: a lot of people. I mentioned at the top of 164 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: the show how I marveled at managing fifty people on 165 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: a trip. Five hundred seems bananas. To bolster the whole enterprise, 166 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: Cook wanted to be in a bigger city to have 167 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: greater access to travel resources. So to that end, he 168 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: and his family moved to Leicester. The Temperance and Baptist 169 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: community there was much larger, and he was also able 170 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: to expand his business with an id using these businesses 171 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: to promote temperance. He started printing temperance literature in his 172 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: own print shop, and he also opened a bookstore to 173 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: sell that literature in He also printed and sold guide 174 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:49,679 Speaker 1: books and almanacs through this system, and next he opened 175 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,439 Speaker 1: two Temperance hotels. The first in Darby was managed by 176 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: his mother Elizabeth, and his wife Mary Anne managed the second, 177 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: which was in Leicester. Coming up, we'll talk about how 178 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: Thomas t transition from wrangling groups of temperance supporters to 179 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: managing travel as a business, but first we'll pause for 180 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. Thomas Cook had since that first rail 181 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: trip from Leicester to Lufborough in eighteen forty one, continued 182 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: to arrange trips for temperance supporters to attend meetings and 183 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,839 Speaker 1: share their ideology throughout England. But in eighteen forty five 184 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: he decided to actually make a business out of it, 185 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: running tours for profit. He had a really good network 186 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,199 Speaker 1: of contacts within the railways at this point, and he 187 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: had already made a name for himself as an efficient 188 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,559 Speaker 1: and trustworthy organizer of group excursions, so he was starting 189 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: this enterprise from a very strong position. Cook's first for 190 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: profit itinerary went to Liverpool, with starting points for travelers 191 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:58,199 Speaker 1: at Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. This included excursions to Canarvan 192 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,959 Speaker 1: and a hike up Mount Snowden. He was conscious of 193 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: the fact that even on his previous temperance oriented trips, 194 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: for a lot of the people traveling it was a 195 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: really new experience, and to that end he produced a 196 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: handbook for the three hundred and fifty people on this 197 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: Liverpool tour, offering them both practical advice and encouragement to 198 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: abstain from drink while enjoying the journey. This handbook was 199 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: the first of many he assembled them for all of 200 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 1: his tours after this point. First class tickets cost fifteen 201 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: shillings and second class was ten shillings. Travelers could also 202 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: opt into a steamer cruise to North Wales for an 203 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: additional fee. The Liverpool Tour was a far more ambitious 204 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: project than any of Thomas Cook's Temperance trips had been, 205 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: but it went well, so well that Cook started to 206 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: set his sights on expanding to new destinations, and he decided, 207 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: after he had done some of these Liverpool trips that 208 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: the next excursion he wanted to offer would go to Scotland. 209 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: The Scotland Tour was scheduled for the summer of eighteen 210 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,440 Speaker 1: forty six, and it was Thomas Cook's first real flop 211 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: since he started planning group travel. The several hundred people 212 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: who had booked had been told that they would be 213 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: able to disembark from the train they were on when 214 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: it made stops along the way to the coast, and 215 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: there they were going to board a steamer to Scotland, 216 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: but it turned out that train passengers were not allowed 217 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: to get off and on it stops. The train also 218 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: didn't have bathrooms and it didn't offer food service, so 219 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: by the time the group got to the coast they 220 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,560 Speaker 1: were already miserable. The next leg of the trip was 221 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: aboard the steamer our Drassen, which was also a problem. 222 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: Cook had booked more people than there were cabins. There 223 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: appears to have been a miscommunication between him and the steamer, 224 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:39,319 Speaker 1: so some of the group had to hang out on 225 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: the deck and they got drenched in a storm that 226 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: came along while they made this crossing. But once the 227 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: group arrived in Scotland, they were warmly welcomed with marching 228 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: bands and other fanfare, and from that point it seems 229 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: to have gone okay. Reviews of this tour were unsurprisingly unkind. 230 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 1: Part of the criticism was Thomas Cook's unrelenting devotion to temperance, 231 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,079 Speaker 1: which he preached to all his tour groups. This summer 232 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: of problems caused a temporary halt to Cook's travel business. 233 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: He was also seeing new competitors emerge in the publishing market, 234 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: some of whom were printing books and pamphlets on Temperance 235 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, so he had kind of planned on 236 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: this travel thing going well, and it started well and 237 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: then wasn't. And then this other area of the market 238 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: that he had cornered with suddenly having some competitors and 239 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: he just kind of needed to regroup. So he slowly 240 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: rebuilt his business over the next couple of years, and 241 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight he was once again up and 242 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: running with his tours, publishing and his Temperance hotels. For 243 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: the next couple of years. After that, he launched successful 244 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: tours to Scotland and Ireland, and then a new opportunity 245 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: presented itself to Cook in the form of the Great 246 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: Exposition of eighteen fifty one, which has made numerous appearances 247 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: on the podcast over the years. Cook booked travel arrangements 248 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: for more than one hundred and fifty thousand people to 249 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: go to the Great Exposition. To bolster his travel business, 250 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: he also started publishing the periodical slash Travel catalog Cook's 251 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:08,559 Speaker 1: Exhibition Harold an Excursion Advertiser. This effort to create Exposition 252 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,439 Speaker 1: tours was incidentally made at the urging of previous podcast 253 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,839 Speaker 1: subject and Crystal Palace architect Sir Joseph Paxton, who hoped 254 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: that Cook would make it possible for the workers outside 255 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: of London to see the hall. Paxton remained a supporter 256 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: of Cook's work long after the Exposition, and Cook's Exhibition 257 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: Harold was later published under the name Cook's Excursionist. And 258 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: after the Great Expo, Thomas Cook built his offerings up 259 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: to meet new levels of demand because he had become 260 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: very well known while planning all of those trips, he 261 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: started offering an assortment of trips that travelers could choose 262 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: from throughout England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. These were not, 263 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 1: we should note, all inclusive tours. Cook's agency booked travel 264 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 1: and outlined itineraries and provided guide books, but tourists were 265 00:14:55,760 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: responsible for booking their own lodging and getting their own food. 266 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: His travel business grew, Thomas Cook ceased operation of his 267 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: printing efforts so that he could focus more on tourism. 268 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: He still printed guidebooks, but he wasn't running his own 269 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: print shop. After a decade of growth and expansion within 270 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: his established roots, Cook expanded his offerings to a wider 271 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: range of destinations on the European continent. This was in 272 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: part because his tours in Scotland ran into a problem, 273 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: which is that the rail companies in Scotland stopped offering 274 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: him discounted group rates for the trains and so to 275 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: expand into this new phase of business, Cooked did two things. First, 276 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: he opened another office in London. Similar to the reasons 277 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: that he moved to Leicester. This shift to London offered 278 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: greater resources and more access to a wider clientele. And second, 279 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: he started creating more comprehensive bookings, ones that did include 280 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 1: lodging and meals as well as railroad travel and channel crossings. 281 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty five, Thomas Cook mounted his first European 282 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: continental tour to coincide with another exposition, this time the 283 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: Exposition on Uniforseel in Paris. This trip hit a lot 284 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: of other spots before landing at the expo, though from England, 285 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,359 Speaker 1: the group traveled to Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Heidelberg and Strasbourg 286 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: before finishing in Paris. In addition to booking the trip 287 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: as a comprehensive package, he also offered a currency exchange 288 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: service to his travelers. Yeah at this point he was 289 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: offering literally like full service travel by the fall of 290 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three, Cook had booked traveled to Switzerland for 291 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: an estimated five hundred tourists and to France for about 292 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: two thousand. The rapid growth of his expanded offerings led 293 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: to Cook being nicknamed the Napoleon of excursions, and before 294 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: long a Cook's tour became synonymous with guided tourist experiences. 295 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty five, the business shifted once again, this 296 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: time because Cook's son, John Mason Cook, started working for 297 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: the firm full time. Over the next six years, John 298 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: helped his father expand the company significantly, so that by 299 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy one there were three offices for the firm 300 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: in England, each with full staff. John was made partner 301 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: that year and the firm became Thomas Cook and Son. 302 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,120 Speaker 1: John had been highly instrumental in getting Cook's company into 303 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: booking travel across the Atlantic, and he had streamlined the 304 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 1: way the business rans make everything more efficient, but even 305 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 1: so John had been really reluctant to step into the 306 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: role of partner. After the popularity of Thomas Cook and 307 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: Son's offering for travel to France and Switzerland, the firm 308 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: started offering tours to Italy as well. As we mentioned, 309 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: John helped get it across the Atlantic, so a United 310 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: States itinerary was soon made available, and then they offered 311 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: trips to Egypt and Israel. And as Cook's travel agency 312 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,439 Speaker 1: entered the eighteen seventies, he was as always thinking bigger 313 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: in terms of where he could go. The advertisements for 314 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,159 Speaker 1: the company at this point read a Cook's Ticket brings 315 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: the World to you, and Thomas Cook seemed really intent 316 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: on delivering on that promise. It was this attitude that 317 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: led him to offer the first ever Round the World 318 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,479 Speaker 1: tourist itinerary. It was ambitious, but Cook was driven by 319 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: his religious faith just as much as any business ambition. 320 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,439 Speaker 1: He wanted to continue to share his religious views and 321 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: show people the world simultaneously, believing that in doing so 322 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: he would help promote global peace. To that end, he 323 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: traveled along with his clients on the company's first Round 324 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,679 Speaker 1: the World excursion, which ran from eighteen seventy two to 325 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy three. It took two hundred and twenty two days, 326 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,679 Speaker 1: and his being there was possible in part because he 327 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: had John to manage the offices back home. But despite 328 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: trusting John to handle a lot of the business, Thomas 329 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 1: and his son had problems, and we are going to 330 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: get into that after we take a break and hear 331 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 1: from one of the sponsors. To keep stuff you missed 332 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: in history class going. Thomas and John Cook did not 333 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: always agree on how their business should run, even though 334 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 1: John was made a partner, and this ultimately caused serious 335 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 1: problems there. I read some historians that suggest said that 336 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:02,959 Speaker 1: the two of them had such different approaches that they 337 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: would have been terribly complimentary if it weren't for the 338 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: fact that they were continuously butting heads. So while Thomas 339 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 1: was shepherding that First World Tour, for example, John settled 340 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 1: the firm's main offices into a new, fancier and more 341 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: expensive location. When Thomas returned, the travel agency started a 342 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,120 Speaker 1: business partnership with an American partner, and that turned disastrous. 343 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: The idea was that combining their efforts with a business 344 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 1: interest on the other side of the Atlantic was going 345 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,479 Speaker 1: to bolster travel bookings from North America to Europe and 346 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: vice versa, but that did not work out. Over the 347 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: next several years, Thomas and John were increasingly at odds, 348 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: and the US partnership fell apart, which added even more 349 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: strain into the relationship. Even as they successfully moved on 350 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: to new ventures, including offering cruises, they didn't seem to 351 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 1: celebrate as much as they seemed to argue, and the 352 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: main issue between them was that they just felt completely 353 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 1: differently as I said, about how their business should run. 354 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: Thomas had always dreamed big and terms of trips, but 355 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: he wasn't especially concerned with turning huge profits as long 356 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: as they were making some profit. He basically seemed to 357 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 1: just want enough to provide for his family and then 358 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: donate pretty generously to the various charities that he supported. John, 359 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: on the other hand, envisioned much grander things. He really 360 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: believed that they could be much more financially lucrative, and 361 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: he thought that his father's approach to business was too 362 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,640 Speaker 1: soft and inefficient, and that his father was a little 363 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: bit of a billy dreamer. Additionally, John wanted Thomas to 364 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: keep his religious and temperance views out of their tours 365 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: and maintain those interests as personal matters, not business. This 366 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: strife between Thomas and John wasn't exactly new. It had 367 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,320 Speaker 1: basically been there ever since John was young. There was 368 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:47,719 Speaker 1: a time, as a very young man, just out of school, 369 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,640 Speaker 1: when John had worked in Thomas's print shop and had 370 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,960 Speaker 1: worked on some of the tours, but the two of 371 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: them had butted heads so often that John left to 372 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: work for a railway company. Even when John returned to 373 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: work for his father in eighteen sixty five, it had 374 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,640 Speaker 1: been because he had a wife and a child to support, 375 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: not because the two of them actually wanted to work together. 376 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 1: Things eventually came to a head in eighteen seventy eight 377 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 1: and father and son had a massive fight. The end result, 378 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: although we don't have details on how exactly this decision 379 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: was reached, was that Thomas removed himself from the business entirely. 380 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: He moved full time back to Leicester, where he had 381 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: built a large house, and he just let John run 382 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 1: things as he wished, But their relationship was damaged beyond repair. 383 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: As the firm was transitioning in leadership from father to son, 384 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: John established a new department at the firm, foreign Banking 385 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 1: and Money Exchange, and then through this division, the company 386 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: started issuing credit notes for travelers, which evolved into travelers checks. 387 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: It was proved to be a very lucrative enterprise that 388 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: makes travelers checks older than I imagined. Yeah, I think 389 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: they were first calling them circular checks, and yeah, they 390 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: eventually set this up again. John, I mean was very 391 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: smart about business, and his father was very smart about 392 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: putting together compelling tours. And if they could just have 393 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,719 Speaker 1: lived in harmony, they probably could have done even more 394 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: amazing things than they did. John also started selecting new 395 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: destinations for the firm, including India, New Zealand and Australia. 396 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: The New Zealand and Australian tours made plenty of money, 397 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: India not so much. John also negotiated government contracts for 398 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: Thomas Cook and Son. So when England sent a force 399 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: to relieve Major General Charles George Gordon, who had become 400 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,399 Speaker 1: embroiled in a conflict with the Mahdi of Soudan in 401 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: the city of Khartoum against the government's wishes, that trip 402 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: was managed by Thomas Cook and Son. Incidentally, that relief 403 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: effort arrived too late, Gordon's stronghold had fallen and he 404 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: had already been killed. That is a whole other potential 405 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: podcast episode. Under John Mason Cook, the firm also transported 406 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: Indian Royalty to London to celebrate the Queen's to Jubileese 407 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,639 Speaker 1: and what seemed to initially like a move his father 408 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 1: would have made. John also assisted in the transport of 409 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Eventually, though, even though this was 410 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: part of a mission initialized by the British Government's India Office, 411 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: Cook's faars were too high that deal ended. Thomas and 412 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,439 Speaker 1: his wife Marianne lived in his retirement, during which he 413 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 1: was getting a pension from his son, with their daughter Annie, 414 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,440 Speaker 1: who had never married, and two years after they moved 415 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: into the house that was called Thorncroft. That was that 416 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: large house that Thomas had built in Leicester. There was 417 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 1: a tragic loss when Annie died in her bathtub. The 418 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,919 Speaker 1: gas fumes from a new heater were determined to have 419 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: been the cause, and Thomas's wife Marianne died four years 420 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: later in eighteen eighty four. Thomas Cook continued his life 421 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,919 Speaker 1: quietly outside of the company. He continued to travel and 422 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,199 Speaker 1: to work with the church and in the Temperance movement. 423 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: He did eventually lose his sight. In eighteen ninety one, 424 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,040 Speaker 1: Thomas Cook and sons celebrated the company's silver jubilee. Thomas 425 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: did not attend, although it is unknown whether that was 426 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: his choice, perhaps because his health was not great or 427 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 1: because his son did not want him there. The firm 428 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 1: celebrated their immense success without their founder. At that point, 429 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: the company had eighty four offices and more than twenty 430 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: five hundred employees, and the next in line to run 431 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: things were John's three sons. Although John continued to head 432 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: things up for a while, and he even expanded the 433 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: company once again to include a fleet of steamers that 434 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: offered Nile River cruises. John did make a move that 435 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 1: seemed a little bit more like something his father would 436 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: have done when he paid for a hospital to be 437 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: built in Egypt. The year after the company's celebration, Thomas died. 438 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: That was on July eighteenth, eighteen ninety two. He had 439 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,440 Speaker 1: had a stroke. He was buried in Leicester on July 440 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,479 Speaker 1: twenty second. As obituary in The Times referred to him 441 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: and John as the Julius and Augustus Caesar of travel. 442 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: Thomas's will was at odds with his existing worth. At 443 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,720 Speaker 1: the time of his death, his estate was worth roughly 444 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: twenty five hundred pounds, but the amount that he bequeathed 445 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: in his will was four two hundred twenty five pounds, 446 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,200 Speaker 1: which has left some history. Ourian's puzzling over what exactly 447 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,919 Speaker 1: happened to the great fortune that he had made. And 448 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: while he was very generous throughout his life, believing that 449 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: it was his duty as a religious man to help 450 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: others in need. For example, he had arranged everything from 451 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: soup kitchens to the building of cottages for the poor 452 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: over the years, there is still a lot of puzzling 453 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: over how exactly he ended up with so little. John 454 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,920 Speaker 1: didn't even break stride in terms of business. After his 455 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: father died. He had become very much a social climber, 456 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: and whenever any royalty books travel with the firm, he 457 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: personally escorted them during their journey. When the first modern 458 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 1: Olympic Games took place in Athens in eighteen ninety six, 459 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: John made sure that the Cook firm was their travel partner. 460 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety eight, while escorting Kaiservillehelm the Second on 461 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: a trip to the Holy Land, John Cook became ill, 462 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: most likely with dysentery, and though John returned home, he 463 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,439 Speaker 1: continued to be unwell for several months leading up to 464 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: his death on March sixth, eighteen ninety nine. John's son's Frank, 465 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: Earnest and Burt took over the travel agency in its 466 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: many offices, and the company continued to flourish. They kept 467 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: printing The Excursionist, although the name was changed to Traveler's Gazette, 468 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 1: and in nineteen nineteen they became the first UK travel 469 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: agent to offer air bookings. Thomas Cook's grandsons sold the 470 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: business in nineteen twenty eight to a Belgian firm for 471 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: three point five million pounds, and the firm that Cook 472 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: started still exists under the name Thomas Cook, although in 473 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,440 Speaker 1: recent times it has had some struggles. In May of 474 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: this year, which is twenty nineteen, the Guardian reported that 475 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: the company lost one point five billion euros due to 476 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: Brexit uncertainty. People were canceling trips because they didn't know 477 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 1: what was going to happen next. And then a few 478 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: weeks later reports hitting the news that Fossen International, that's 479 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: the Chinese conglomerate that owns Club Med was interested in 480 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,159 Speaker 1: purchasing the company, and the company was talking with them still. 481 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: A June eighteenth article in Travel Weekly announced plans for 482 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,640 Speaker 1: the Thomas Cook Company to open two new hotels in Egypt, 483 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 1: and the day before we recorded this, but a little 484 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: while before you will hear it, they announced their move 485 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: of their digital marketing office to Manchester from London, and 486 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,199 Speaker 1: new efforts to market their airline division. So regardless of 487 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,880 Speaker 1: what happens next to the company that bears his name, 488 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: it was really Thomas Cook that set the stage for 489 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: the industry of tourism as we know it today. Whenever 490 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: he selected a destination as an offering, it became a 491 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: standard vacation spot for his clients. And this way he 492 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: planted the seeds of this industry which now drives the 493 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: economies of many countries and many individual places within countries. Yeah, 494 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,880 Speaker 1: it's really fascinating to think about. Like he would basically say, 495 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: like I think we should start going to Switzerland, and 496 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: people would start going to Switzerland, and then towns that 497 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: he went to in Switzerland would be like, we have 498 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: a booming tourist economy, we should court tourism, and like 499 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,679 Speaker 1: that cycle would happen over and over and over and 500 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: in many ways, he really ended up kind of shifting 501 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: the way that various areas managed their economics because that, again, 502 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: tourism is a big business. Thanks so much for joining 503 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. If you'd like to send us 504 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: a note, our email addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot 505 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: com and you can subscribe to the show on the 506 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 507 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: favorite shows.