Henry Thomas Buckle

1821–1862 · English historian & chess master

Henry Thomas Buckle was a self-taught English historian best known for his ambitious, unfinished History of Civilization in England (1857–1861), which sought to place history on a scientific footing. A celebrated conversationalist and one of the strongest amateur chess players of his day, he died young of typhoid fever in 1862. The three-tier “great minds / average minds / small minds” hierarchy is credited to him in a dinner-table recollection published decades after his death.

Traced to source

1 quote we’ve traced

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”

Disputed

Did they really say it?

Thought Henry Thomas Buckle said something else?

Type a quote you think Henry Thomas Buckle said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.