Sir Edward Thornton, FRS (22 October 1766 – 3 July 1852) was a British diplomat, and father of Sir Edward Thornton (1817–1906). He was born in London, the third son (of three sons and two daughters; a brother was the merchant Thomas Thornton) of William Thornton (1738–1769), who had come from Hull,

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

to London and established himself as a prosperous innkeeper and

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

, and Dorothy (née Thompson; died 1769), described by Sir Edward Thornton as "a countrywoman... a native of the... East Riding, of a very respectable family". Dorothy died three months after the birth of a daughter, and eight months later, William was suddenly taken ill and died soon after, leaving their children orphaned. Being left in the care of a family friend, using his guardian's connections Thornton was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553. ...

and at Pembroke College, Cambridge. In 1902 Christ's Hospital named one of its boarding houses after him. He became British vice-consul in Maryland in June 1793 and was ambassador to the United States from 1800 to 1804. He was then posted to Sweden as minister-plenipotentiary in December 1807 with the objective of forming an alliance against Napoleon, returning to England in November 1808. In October 1811 he went again to Sweden (until 1817) on a special mission in HMS Victory and he successfully negotiated treaties of alliance with both Sweden and Russia, both called the

Treaty of Örebro A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

. This was the first stage in the creation of an alliance of Northern European States against Napoleon. He negotiated the

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on t ...

for the United Kingdom and was present with the prince royal of Sweden (

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

) when the allies entered Paris in 1815. He became a member of the Privy council in 1816. He was appointed minister to Portugal in July 1817 and joined the Portuguese court in Brazil. He was ambassador to Portugal from April 1819 to March 1821, when he returned to England. He returned again to Portugal as an ambassador from August 1823 to August 1824 during which time he invested the King of Portugal with the Order of the Garter and assisted the King during the insurrection. The title of Count of Cacilhas in the Portuguese nobility was conferred on Thornton and his heirs for three generations by the King of Portugal. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in June 1810, appointed GCB in 1822 and retired in August 1824. He had married in 1812 Wilhelmina Kohp of Hanover with whom he had one daughter and six sons. In retirement he lived in Wembury House, Plymouth, Devon, where he died in 1852.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Edward 1766 births 1852 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States People educated at Christ's Hospital Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark