Thomas King (died 1725) facts for kids

Thomas King was an important English soldier and politician who lived from before 1660 until 1725. He was a lieutenant governor in Sheerness, Kent. He also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Queenborough, a town in Kent.

His Family and Early Life

Thomas King was the oldest son of Thomas King, who was also a Member of Parliament for Harwich. His brother was John King, who later became the Master of Charterhouse, a famous school in London.

A Career in the Military

Thomas King began his military career in 1678. He started as an ensign, which is a junior officer rank. He was promoted several times over the years. By 1688, he was a captain. He later became a lieutenant-colonel in the 2nd Foot Guards. In 1706, he was made a brevet colonel, which is an honorary rank. He retired from the military before 1715.

From 1688 to 1689, King was the deputy governor of the Tower of London. This is a very old and famous castle in London. From 1690 until he died, he was the lieutenant governor of Sheerness. This was an important military post. It seems he did not take part in any major battles during his time as a soldier.

Life as a Member of Parliament

Thomas King was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Queenborough nine times. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the country's government. He was first elected in 1696 during a special election called a by-election. He was then re-elected in general elections in 1698, 1701 (twice), 1702, 1705, 1710, 1713, and 1715.

Queenborough was known as a "rotten borough." This meant it was a very small town with only a few dozen voters. These few voters chose two MPs to represent them in Parliament. This was very different from how elections work today.

The Queenborough Elections

The elections in Queenborough were often full of interesting events. In 1696, one of the MPs, Caleb Banks, was very sick. He wanted Admiral Sir George Rooke to take his place. However, Henry Sydney, a powerful military leader, wanted Thomas King to win the seat. King was a lieutenant-colonel in Sydney's own regiment.

Sydney offered to help Rooke get elected in a different town if he didn't run in Queenborough. But Rooke decided to run in Queenborough anyway. By then, it was too late. Thomas King had been "treating" the voters. This meant he was giving them food and drinks to get their votes. This was a common, but often illegal, practice at the time.

Rooke visited Queenborough with several important navy officials. Even though Rooke spent a lot of money, King would not give up. Rooke thought about challenging King's election, but he had also been "treating" voters. In the end, King won the election without anyone running against him.

Later elections in Queenborough also had their share of drama. In 1697, some voters were not allowed to vote anymore. This was because they did not live in Queenborough or did not attend town meetings. This helped the army's candidates, like King, win elections over navy candidates.

In 1705, another MP, Robert Crawford, lost his seat to Sir John Jennings, a navy officer. The election was very competitive. Thomas King did not run in the 1708 election. He was replaced by another soldier, Henry Withers.

King ran again in 1710 and won "by the great majority of votes." The person who lost, John Jennings, complained that King and his partner had used "gross bribery" to win. But nothing came of his complaint. King lost his re-election bid in 1722. He and his running mate also complained about bribery, but they later dropped their complaint.

Later Life and Legacy

Thomas King was married and had two daughters. As an MP, he was considered a "Whig" but often voted with the "Tories." These were the two main political groups in England at the time.

Some people had mixed opinions about King. During the 1696 election, his supporter Henry Sydney called him a "blockhead." His opponent, George Rooke, said King had "shallow capacity," meaning he wasn't very smart.

Despite these comments, King cared about his community. In 1721, he paid for improvements to Holy Trinity Church in Queenborough. In his old age, people said he was "full of anecdotes" (interesting stories) about the time of King Charles the Second.