Guy, Thomas (1644/5-1724), bookseller and philanthrophist

The founder of Guy’s Hospital was by trade a bookseller. Age eight, Guy’s father died, and the family moved to his mother’s hometown of Tamworth. Here, Guy was likely educated at Tamworth Grammar School until, in 1660, he was apprenticed to London bookseller John Clarke. Guy was freed of the Stationers’ Company in 1668 and made a freeman of the City of London. In 1673, he was admitted to the livery of the Company. His early career was defined by a defiance of Company patents. He was found importing Dutch Bibles and in 1679, Guy and fellow bookseller Peter Parker were selected by John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, to set up a press for the university and produce Bibles. A long legal battle ensued between Guy, Parker and the university and the Stationers’ Company. However, in 1691 the Company were triumphant, having removed Guy and Parker from their Oxford contract. Nonetheless, Guy was a highly successful bookseller and businessman, aided by successful investments in the South Sea Company. He turned his wealth to philanthropy, particularly aiding his childhood home of Tamworth. Here, he founded an alms house with a library, donated to the grammar school, and workhouses. Guy served as MP for Tamworth 1695-1708. In 1704, he became a governor of St Thomas’s Hospital and in 1721 bought land to build a new hospital in London, which would become Guy’s Hospital. Thomas Guy died in 1724. His remains were later interred in the crypt at Guy’s Hospital.

Bookseller (1668-1724), MP for Tamworth (1695-1708)

Thomas Guy (father), lighterman, coalmonger, carpenter; Anne Vaughton (mother)

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography