National Records of Scotland

Preserving the past, Recording the present, Informing the future

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

Novelist

William Makepeace Thackeray was born on 18 July 1811 in India, the son of Richmond Thackeray and Anne Becher. His father died in 1815 and his mother later married Henry Carmichael-Smyth. The family moved to England in 1819. In the 1830s and 1840s William Makepeace Thackeray wrote magazine articles and books under a variety of pseudonyms although his most famous work 'Vanity Fair' started as a serial publication under his own name. He died suddently at home in December 1863 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Informant for death in 1861

W M Thackeray, step-son, was the informant for the death of Henry William Carmichael Smyth, a major in the Bengal Engineers and married to Ann Becher. The entry in the statutory register of deaths for the district of Ayr gives the date of registration as 11 September 1861 and the place of death as 2 Alloway Place in Ayr.

Death record with William Makepeace Thackeray as informant

Death record with William Makepeace Thackery as informant (31 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, 1861/578/381