Hughes

huz, Thomas (1823-1896), an English writer and statesman. He received his education at Rugby and Oxford, and was admitted to the practice of law. He entered Parliament as a Liberal of advanced views. He was a friend of Canon Kingsley. In 1880 they together attempted the establishment of a socialistic community called New Rugby in the mountains of Tennessee. The members were sons of English farmers, but the undertaking was not a financial success. Hughes wrote many articles for periodicals and the London press. At the time of the Civil War he was much interested in the liberation of the American slaves. He formed a strong friendship with James Russell Lowell. Hughes was a useful man who deserves to be remembered for public services, but his fame rests largely on a book for boys entitled Tom Brown's School Days. It is understood to be an account of his boyhood life at the celebrated grammar school at Rugby, of which Dr. Thomas Arnold was the head. Its success led to the publication of a sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford. The former is one of the best boys' books that appeared in the nineteenth century. See Rugby; Arnold