Thomas Sclater (c. 1664 – 23 August 1736), later Thomas Bacon, was an English lawyer and Tory 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 ...

at various times between 1713 and 1736.

Early life

Sclater was the son of Edward Sclater of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire and his wife Frances Thompson, daughter of Leonard Thompson, Lord Mayor of York. His father died when he was young and after 1673 he was brought up by his stepfather Edward Thompson. He was educated at St Paul's School and was admitted at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

on 13 June 1682, aged 17. In 1684 he succeeded to the estates of his great-uncle

Sir Thomas Sclater, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Sclater, 1st Baronet (9 July 1615 – 10 December 1684) was an English academic, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659. Sclater was the son of William Sclater of Halifax Yorkshire and was baptised at Ha ...

of Catley House, Cambridgeshire, where he amassed a valuable library. He entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1694 and was called to the bar in 1703.

Career

At the 1713 general election, Sclater was returned unopposed as

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 Bodmin. He was made a freeman of Cambridge in 1714. At the 1715 general election, he was elected MP for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

but was unseated on petition on 27 May 1715. Slater married heiress Elizabeth Bacon on 22 May 1716. She had been a ward "under his charge", and was the heir of John Bacon, a rich London merchant who had purchased land at Little Paxton, Huntingdonshire. On the marriage, he assumed the additional surname of Bacon. He became 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 1721. At the 1722 general election as Bacon, he was returned unopposed as MP for Cambridge. He became a bencher of his Inn in 1724. He was elected MP for Cambridge in contests in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

and 1734.

Death and legacy

Sclater/Bacon died childless worth £200,000 on 22 August 1736 at the age of about 71. His wife had died in 1726, which was after Sclater had made a will in 1724 leaving his estate for life to Sarah, the wife of his coachman whom he described as a ‘kinswoman’ with remainder to her two sons. Elizabeth's will of 1724 left her personal fortune to her step-brothers after Thomas Sclater-Bacon's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sclater, Thomas 1664 births Year of birth uncertain 1736 deaths People from Cambridge People from Bodmin Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at St Paul's School, London