• Name: Campbell, Thomas
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date: 27  July  1777
• Death Date: 15  June  1844

Campbell was educated at Glasgow University and intended becoming a minister of the Church of Scotland. Instead he became a literary figure, The Pleasures of Hope (1799) was his crowning poetic achievement. He also edited the New Monthly Magazine, wrote a biography of Sarah Siddons, and became rector of Glasgow University.

In terms of evidence to confirm this identification, Marshall records that Thomas Campbell 'became a close friend as a result' of a laudatory review of Cloudesley (1830) (although Godwin knew him prior to this) in the New Monthly Magazine, Locke lists him as one of the few new friends in the last years of Godwin's life, and all of the biographers record that Campbell attended Godwin's funeral. The last meeting of the pair, when Godwin dined at Campbell's with Czartoriski is suggestive - Campbell was an advocate of Polish independence and Czartoriski was a Polish prince who had fought against the Russians and been driven into exile. This entry also allows us to determine that the later 'Campbels' refer to Thomas.

There are other instances of Campbell/Campbel (without an initial) in the diary that may refer to Thomas. Although it is clear that Godwin knew other people by this name in the 1790s and early 1800s, the entry for 17 October 1807 suggests that some of them may refer to Thomas. It reads: 'Dine at Perry’s, w. Currans, Popes, Spanky, Campbel, Macdonnel & Finnerty: sleep. This dinner overlaps significantly with a prior entry for 7 March 1802: 'dine at Perry's, w. M J, Tho. Campbel, Spanky, Ramsay, 3 Bonnors, Gillies's, & miss Stuart'. This indicates that Godwin may reference Thomas Campbell as a plain Campbel/Campbell. However, unless the context is very suggestive, such as the 1807 entry, they have been left uncoded. This excludes the 1835-6 Campbels which have all been coded as Thomas as it seems probable that there are no other Campbells in his circle by then.

• MS. Abinger c. 13, fol. 1: 17 November 1821
• MS. Abinger c. 12, fol. 113: 8 November 1821
• MS. Abinger c. 13, fols. 46-7: 6 February 1826
• MS. Abinger c. 14, fol. 20: 19 October 1833
• DNB
• St Clair
• Marshall
• Locke

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.