Thomas Hay (1733–1786) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the
House of Commons from 1768 to 1780.
Early life and army
Hay was the eldest son of
William Hay of
Glyndebourne, Sussex and his wife Elizabeth Pelham, daughter of
Thomas Pelham MP of Catsfield Place, Sussex and was born on 3 July 1733. He was educated at
Westminster School in 1747. He joined the army and was Cornet in the
9th Dragoons
The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. The re ...
in 1751, Lieutenant in the
7th Dragoons in 1755 and captain in 1757. He served on the
raid on Cherbourg in 1758 and was in Germany, as aide-de-camp to
Granby from 1759 to 1763. He became a Major in 1761 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1765. He also studied at
University of Göttingen.
Political career
In 1768 the
Duke of Newcastle chose Hay as candidate for
Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
but later changed his mind. However Hay had already canvassed the town and been promised support. He was elected
Member of Parliament for Lewes in the
1768 general election
The 1768 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.
The election took plac ...
. In
1774
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I.
* January 27
** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...
he stood at Lewes on his own interest and was returned. He stood again in
1780
Events
January–March
* January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet.
* February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...
but was defeated and did not stand in 1784. There is no indication that he ever spoke in Parliament.
[
]
Later life
Hay was described by George Hardinge as “a modest, virtuous, respectable, and sensible man; with no brilliancy of talent, but with a high sense of honour”. He died unmarried on 9 February 1786.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Thomas
1733 births
1796 deaths
British MPs 1768–1774
British MPs 1774–1780
9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
7th Queen's Own Hussars officers
British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War