Colonel Thomas Stanley (14 September 1749 – 25 December 1816) was a British Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

for 32 years from 1780 to 1812. He also served as

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 1st Royal Lancashire Militia. He was the son of the Revd Thomas Stanley and educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

. He was described as being of Cross Hall, Lathom near Ormskirk Lancashire. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

from February 1780 until he retired from the

at the 1812 general election, having been elected unopposed at seven successive elections. In his long parliamentary career he spoke often in favour of the Lancashire cotton industry. Colonel Stanley was also an avid book collector, with a focus on Literature and Fine Binding. As reported by T. F. Dibdin in his "Bibliographical Decameron" (1817, volume iii, pp 78–82), the Stanley Sale of 1813 (Bibliotheca Stanleiana) was a major event among bibliomaniacs, and was one of the most impressive libraries ever to be sold during the lifetime of the owner. Apparently, Stanley used the proceeds from the sale to retire in style. He died 3 years after the sale, unmarried, aged 67.

References

History of Parliament - STANLEY, Thomas (1749-1816) of Cross Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Thomas 1749 births 1816 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lancashire British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Lancashire UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 People educated at Manchester Grammar School Lancashire Militia officers