Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
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Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield (1666-1732) was an English politician.
He was born in Staffordshire and educated at Adams' Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the bar in 1691, and became a Whig MP in 1704, knighted in 1705. In 1710 he refused the office of Lord Chancellor, but was made a Privy Councillor. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1713. In 1714 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Parker of Macclesfield. In 1716 he became Lord Chancellor and given a pension for life, and was a favourite of the King. In 1718 he was advanced to the title Earl of Macclesfield with the additional subsidiary title of Viscount Parker. In 1721 he was implicated in financial irregularities, however he did not resign as Lord Chancellor until 1724. In 1725 he was found unanimously guilty of corruption for taking more than one hundred thousand pounds in bribes (many millions in today's currency), fined £30,000 and placed in the Tower of London until payment was received. He was a fabulously wealthy man possibly due to his corruption, but as this money was confiscated he had no resources with which to pay his fine. He spent most of the rest of his life at Shirburn Castle, where he was buried.
| Preceded by: The Lord Cowper | Lord Chancellor 1718–1725 | Succeeded by: In Commission
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