Background
Thornton was born in London, the eldest child of Thomas (1738–1769) and Dorothy Thornton (died 1769).
Thornton was born in London, the eldest child of Thomas (1738–1769) and Dorothy Thornton (died 1769).
Thomas"s education prepared him for a career in one of the most important English trading houses of the time. In 1790, at only 28 years old, he became consul of the Levant Company. In about 1793 he was sent to the British factory at Constantinople, where he resided fourteen years, making a stay of fifteen months at Odessa, and paying frequent visits to Asia Minor and the islands of the Archipelago.
During that period he gathered information that would be used in the writing of The Present State of Turkey.
About the end of 1813 Thornton was appointed consul to the Levant Company, but when on the eve of setting out for Alexandria he died at Burnham, Buckinghamshire, on 28 March 1814.