Thomas Fielding Johnson
| Thomas Fielding Johnson | |
|---|---|
Thomas Fielding Johnson, c.1900
|
|
| Born |
Thomas Johnson 24 December 1828 Nether Langwith, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 1921 (aged 92–93) Leicester, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Nonconformist Proprietary School, Leicester |
| Occupation | Businessman and philanthropist |
| Years active | 1852–1921 |
| Spouse(s) |
Julia Christiana Stone (m. 1855–59) Agnes Paget (m. 1863–1917) |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) |
John Goode Johnson (1798–1872) Eliza Fielding (1803–1878) |
| Relatives | William Spurrett Fielding-Johnson (grandson) |
Thomas Fielding Johnson (24 December 1828 – 1921) was a prominent Victorian businessman and philanthropist in Leicester, England. Among his many acts of public spiritedness and generosity was the donation in 1919 of a 37 acres (15 ha) site and buildings for the establishment of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland University College which finally became the University of Leicester.
Fielding Johnson was born at Nether Langwith, Nottinghamshire, the third of eight children born to John Goode Johnson (1798–1872) and Eliza Fielding (1803–1878). His very early years were spent at the family home, The Old Mill House in Langwith, but he soon followed his elder brother to study at the Nonconformist Proprietary School in Leicester (the building now occupied by the New Walk Museum & Art Gallery) and moved into the Leicester home of his uncle (his mother's brother) and aunt, Joseph and Martha Fielding.
His aunt and uncle had no children of their own and Fielding Johnson was adopted by them in 1840 aged twelve. This sort of arrangement was not uncommon among the Victorian middle-classes and allowed the wealth earned by successful parents to be passed down the generations and retained within families. Previously known simply as Thomas Johnson, from then on he adopted the surname that he is now known by; Fielding Johnson.
In 1855 Fielding Johnson married Julia Christiana Stone, the daughter of Samuel Stone and Mary Chamberlain. As the first Town Clerk to the New Corporation of Leicester (an office equivalent to Chief Executive in the modern City Council and which he held between 1836 and 1872), Fielding Johnson's father-in-law was a prominent member of Leicester's growing professional middle-class. He was a partner in the legal firm of Stone, Paget and Billson and left a legacy to future generations of lawyers in the form of his 'Stone's Justices' Manual', a definitive legal text which is still available today. The marriage ended after only four years as a result of Christiana's premature death in 1859. It produced two sons; Thomas Fielding Johnson Junior (1856–1931) and Joseph (1857) who died aged only six months.
Fielding Johnson remarried in 1863. His second wife came from his existing social circle and was Agnes Paget, second daughter of Alfred Paget and Eliza Smith. Alfred Paget was also a partner in the firm of Stone, Paget and Billson and belonged to a local family with a landowning background whose younger members were prominent in Leicester's professions. This second marriage -which appears to have been a very happy one- lasted until Agnes died in 1917. It produced a daughter Agnes Mabel (1864–1942) and a son, Harold Paget (1865–1877) who contracted measles while a boarder at Rugby School and died, aged only twelve.
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