William John Thoms (1803 – 1885) was a
British writer credited with coining the term "
folklore" in the
1840s. Thoms's investigation of folklore and myth led to a later career of debunking longevity myths. Hence, he is the "father of age validation research" to
demographers.
Thoms was an antiquary and miscellaneous writer, for many years a clerk in the secretary's office of Chelsea Hospital. He was in 1845 appointed Clerk, and subsequently Deputy Librarian to the House of Lords. He was the founder in 1849 of Notes and Queries, which for some years he also edited.
Among his publications are Early Prose Romances (1827-1828), Lays and Legends (1834), The Book of the Court (1838), Gammer Gurton's Famous Histories (1846), Gammer Gurton's Pleasant Stories (1848). He also edited Stow's London, and was secretary of the Camden Society.
In the 1870s, William Thoms began investigating claims to "ultra-centenarianism." His essays and in particular his book, Human Longevity Its Facts and Fictions (1879) make William Thoms the "father of age validation research," especially relevant to the topic of supercentenarians.
