Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire (8 October 1587 – 16 July 1669) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

between 1605 and 1622. He was created Earl of Berkshire in 1626.

Life

Howard was born in

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, the second son of

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, (24 August 156128 May 1626) of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the second son of Thomas Howard, 4th ...

and his wife Catherine Knyvet. He was educated at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Ma ...

. He was knighted in 1604. In 1605 he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Lancaster in a by-election. He was elected MP for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in 1614. In 1621 he was elected MP for Cricklade. In 1621 he was created Baron Howard of Charlton,

and on 7 February 1626, he was created Earl of Berkshire. He inherited the Charlton Park estate in Wiltshire from his mother. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

he was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

, but after the defeat of the Royalist cause Parliament left him in peace.

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II fr ...

, who despised Berkshire, said that this was because he had no reputation and no understanding of public affairs, and so could do Parliament's cause no harm. After the

Restoration of Charles II The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came t ...

he was made a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

Family

Howard married Elizabeth Cecil, daughter and co-heir of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter in 1614. They had thirteen children: * Charles Howard, 2nd Earl of Berkshire (1615–1679). * Mary Howard (1616–1679) * Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire (1619–1706). *

Henry Howard (playwright) Henry Howard may refer to: Nobles and politicians U.K. *Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517–1547), English aristocrat and poet * Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton (1540–1614), son of the Earl of Surrey *Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel ( ...

* William Howard, Grandfather of 11th Earl of Suffolk and 4th of Berkshire *

Sir Robert Howard Robert Howard may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Howard (playwright) (1626–1698), English playwright and politician * Robert Boardman Howard (1896–1983), American muralist and sculptor * Robert E. Howard (1906–1936), fantasy writer, crea ...

(1626–1698) * Elizabeth Howard, married

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

* Colonel Philip Howard (1629–1717) * Frances Howard, who married

Conyers Darcy, 2nd Earl of Holderness Conyers Darcy, 2nd Earl of Holderness (1622 – 13 December 1692) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679 and later became a peer. Life Darcy was the eldest son of Conyers Darcy, 8th Lord Darcy of Knayth and 5 ...

* James Howard * Algernon Howard * Edward Howard * Diana Howard (1636–1713).

References

, - , - , - 1587 births 1669 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Thomas Howard, 01st Earl of Berkshire Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Middlesex Lord-Lieutenants of Oxfordshire People from Saffron Walden Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire 17th-century English nobility English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Cricklade Younger sons of earls {{17thC-England-MP-stub