Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet, of Conington (1594 – 13 May 1662) was an English politician and heir to the Cottonian Library.

Life

He was the only surviving child of

Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet (22 January 1570/71 – 6 May 1631) of Conington Hall in the parish of Conington, Huntingdonshire, Conington in Huntingdonshire, England,Kyle, Chris & Sgroi was a Member of Parliament and an antiquarian who ...

and Elizabeth Brocas. He graduated B.A. at Broadgates Hall, Oxford in 1616. In 1624 he became Member of Parliament for

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the ...

. Sir Thomas was the intimate friend and correspondent of

Sir John Eliot Sir John Eliot (11 April 1592 – 27 November 1632) was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament. Early life T ...

, and was entrusted by his influence with the representation of St Germans (Eliot's native place) in the third of Charles I's parliaments. He was M.P. for

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

of 1640, but took no active part in politics or the civil wars. His house at Westminster was left at the disposal of the parliament, and Charles I slept there during his trial. Cotton died at Conington on 13 May 1662, and was buried with his father.

Cottonian Library

He made great efforts for the restitution of his father's library, which later became the nucleus of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. On 23 July 1631, the council ordered the catalogue to be continued; but in September Sir Thomas announced that it had been again interrupted, and begged to be allowed to retain possession of the books. This request was ultimately granted, although the date is uncertain. Like his father, Sir Thomas gave scholars free access to his library.

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...

from an early age was often there, and obtained there much of his material for his ''Monasticon''. In 1640 Sir Thomas lent his father's collection of coins to Sir Symonds D'Ewes. He moved the greater part of the library in 1650 to a villa at Stratton, Bedfordshire, which belonged to his son's wife.

Family

He married Margaret Howard, daughter of Lord William Howard, of

Naworth Castle Naworth Castle, also known or recorded in historical documents as "Naward", is a castle in Cumbria, England, near the town of Brampton, Carlisle, Brampton. It is adjacent to the A69 road (England), A69 road from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, by whom he had one son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, b. 9 March 1620/1, a daughter Lucy b. 17 April 1618, and a daughter Frances b. 19 July 1619. His wife Margaret died 5 March 1621/2.Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica,"Cotton of Connington", Vol. 1, New Series, pp. 337-340. Howard, Joseph Jackson, ed. London: Hamilton, Adams & Company, Paternoster Row, 187
Misc
/ref> In 1640 Sir Thomas Cotton married with Alice Constable, daughter and heiress of Sir John Constable of Dromanby, Yorkshire, widow of Edmund Anderson of Stratton and Eyworth, Bedfordshire, by whom he had four sons. Their second son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, was Member of Parliament for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, was knighted, was commissioner of the post office, and was friendly with

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

References

Notes

;Attribution , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Thomas 1594 births 1662 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for St Germans English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) Alumni of Broadgates Hall, Oxford