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Why did Thomas Carlyle leave his career in teaching?
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Thomas Carlyle
Carlyle, detail of an oil painting by G.F. Watts, 1877; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
Thomas Carlyle abandoned his career in teaching simply because the profession did not suit him. After holding a mathematical teaching post at Annan beginning in 1814 and later teaching at a school in Kirkcaldy, he found the work incompatible with his temperament and eventually left it behind.1
Following his departure from teaching, Carlyle pursued other paths, including studying law at the University of Edinburgh and engaging in tutoring and journalism, before ultimately establishing himself as a prominent essayist and historian.12