Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam (died 4 March 1497) was

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

in 1489–1490. He was born into a Lincolnshire gentry family, the son of Thomas Fitzwilliam of

Mablethorpe Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611. On 1 Ap ...

and educated at the

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. He was appointed Recorder of Lincoln and elected MP for

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in 1459. In 1467 he was returned as MP for Plympton Earle, then a seat under the control of the Crown. In 1478 he was appointed a serjeant-at-law for the

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. After obtaining a house in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, he was elected a

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

and supported the claim of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

to the English throne. He nevertheless welcomed Henry Tudor after the

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and became more active in government, representing London in King Henry's first parliament. He was knighted in 1486. In 1489, in Henry's third Parliament, he was elected Speaker of the House, electing to sit as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

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. He died in 1497 and was buried in Mablethorpe church. He had married Margaret Harrington (d. 1498), with whom he had at least three sons, John, George, and William. John predeceased him, and he was succeeded by John's son, another Thomas, who also died young in 1502. The estates then passed to Sir Thomas' second son, George.

References

Oxford DNB Fitzwilliam, Sir Thomas
Year of birth unknown 1497 deaths People from Mablethorpe English MPs 1459 Speakers of the House of Commons of England Serjeants-at-law (England) Recorders of London English MPs 1467 English MPs 1485 Members of the Parliament of England for Plympton Erle {{15thC-England-MP-stub