Sir Thomas Lighton, 1st Baronet (died 27 April 1805) was an Ulster Scots banker and politician. Born in

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

, County Tyrone, Lighton was the son of a tenant-farmer, John Lighton, and Elizabeth Walker. After working as a trader in Strabane, he travelled to India and became a soldier in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He was rewarded with a gift of £20,000 by the wife of General Richard Matthews after successfully transporting the General's fortune from India to London. He returned to Ireland and used his money to establish the Lighton, Needham & Shaw Bank in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

alongside Robert Shaw. He held the office of

High Sheriff of County Dublin The Sheriff of County Dublin (or (High) Sheriff of the County of Dublin) was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Dublin. Initially, an office for a lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the Sheriff became an annual appointment foll ...

in 1790. Between 1790 and 1797 Lighton sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

as the

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

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

. On 1 March 1791 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Merville in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

. He represented Carlingford in the Irish Commons from 1798 to 1800. Lighton married Anne Pollock, daughter of William Pollock, on 11 December 1777. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lighton, Thomas, 1st Baronet Year of birth unknown 1805 deaths British East India Company people High Sheriffs of County Dublin Irish bankers Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies Politicians from County Tyrone Ulster Scots people