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William John Thoms

— Posted on 20th July 2015

http://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/08/he-coined-the-word-folk-lore/

William John Thoms (1803-1885) was a founder member of The Folklore Society and coined the word ‘folk-lore’ in English. Read Stephen Winick’s ‘He coined the word “Folk-Lore”’ on Library of Congress ‘Folklife Today’ blog, and see also Jonathan Roper’s article ‘Thoms and the Unachieved “Folk-Lore of England‘ in our journal Folklore. 

We put a wreath on Thoms’s grave at Brompton Cemetery during our ‘Death in Legend and Tradition’ conference, September 2010.

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