Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield FRS (12 October 1723 – 9 February 1795), styled Viscount Parker between 1732 and 1764, was a British peer and politician.

Early life

Macclesfield was the son of

George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, FRS ( 17 March 1764) was a British politician and astronomer. Biography George was tutored by Welsh mathematician William Jones, who went on to become the first person to use the symbol (the Greek ...

, and Mary, daughter of Ralph Lane.

Political career

Macclesfield was returned to Parliament for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

in 1747, a seat he held until 1754, and then represented

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

between 1754 and 1761 and Rochester between 1761 and 1764. The latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. The family seat was

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remode ...

in Oxfordshire. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in November 1747.

Family

Lord Macclesfield married his first cousin, Mary, daughter of

Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet (15 March 1693 – 10 May 1751), of Hursley, Hampshire, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1722 and 1741. Heathcote was the second son of Samuel Heathcote, Esq., of Ha ...

, and Elizabeth Parker, in 1749. They had four children: * Lady Elizabeth Parker (29 June 1751 – 10 June 1829), who married John Fane, son of Henry Fane MP and Charlotte Luther. They had six children. * Lady Mary Parker (b. 16 March 1753). *

George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield PC (24 February 1755 – 20 March 1842), styled Viscount Parker between 1764 and 1795, was a British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1777 and 1795. Background Macclesfield wa ...

(1755–1842). * Thomas Parker, 5th Earl of Macclesfield (1763–1850), who married firstly a daughter of Lewis Edwards and had four daughters of which one, Amelia, married William Montgomery, grandson of

Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor (18 August 1719 – 20 May 1781), was an Irish politician and peer. Background He was the only surviving son of Michael Ward (Irish politician), Michael Ward of Castle Ward, County Down, one of the justices of t ...

. He married secondly Eliza Wolstenholme, daughter of William Breton Wolstenholme, and with her had a son Thomas (later succeeding him as Earl), and two daughters Lavinia who married the Hon. John Dutton, son of John Dutton, 2nd Baron Sherborne and Laura who married Hugh Seymour McDonnell, 4th Earl of Antrim. He died in February 1795, aged 71, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, George. Lady Macclesfield died in May 1812.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macclesfield, Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of 1723 births 1795 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Newcastle-under-Lyme British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Fellows of the Royal Society

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

203 Year 203 ( CCIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Plautianus and Geta (or, less frequently, year 956 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 203 for this ye ...