Thomas Whitmore (c. 1742–1795), was a British soldier and 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. ...

for 24 years from 1771 to 1795. Whitmore was the son of Charles Whitmore a wine merchant of Southampton and his wife Mary Kelly. He joined the army and was Ensign in the

9th Foot The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

in 1759. In 1761 was serving in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. He became captain in the 9th Foot in 1762 and major in 1767. He married firstly his cousin Mary Whitmore daughter of

Thomas Whitmore Thomas Whitmore may refer to: * Thomas Whitmore (1599–1677), English lawyer and politician * Thomas Whitmore (1782–1846), English Whig MP for Bridgnorth *Sir Thomas Whitmore, 1st Baronet (1612–1653), English MP for Bridgnorth *Thomas Charlt ...

of Apley, formerly MP, in June 1770. In 1771 Whitmore was elected in a by-election 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 of ...

for

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...

, where a Whitmore was usually MP over two centuries. He succeeded to his uncle's estate at

Apley Hall Apley Hall is an English Gothic Revival house located in the parish of Stockton near Bridgnorth, Shropshire. The building was completed in 1811 with adjoining property of of private parkland beside the River Severn. It was once home to the Whit ...

in 1773 and retired from the army. By 1774 he was his own patron and his election was unopposed in the 1774 general election. His first wife died in 1776 and he married again in January 1780 to Mary Foley, daughter of Captain Thomas Foley RN of Stockton, Shropshire. He was returned again as MP for Bridgnorth and also for

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...

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 chose to sit for Bridgnorth. Subsequently, he was a member of the

St. Alban's Tavern group The St. Alban's Tavern group was an informal association of 78 British Members of Parliament who aimed to bring about a reconciliation of William Pitt the Younger and Charles James Fox in a unified Ministry. They were named after the St. Alban's Tav ...

which tried to bring together Pitt and Fox. He was returned for Bridgnorth again in

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

and

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took p ...

. Whitmore died aged 52 on 17 April 1795.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, Thomas 1795 deaths British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Year of birth uncertain