Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an English Whig politician who represented Derby in the English and British House of Commons from 1705 to 1710. He also served as Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of Great Britain's regents before the arrival of George I to England. Macclesfield's career ended when he was convicted of corruption on a massive scale, spending the final years of his life in retirement at his country estate of Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire.
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Early life
Thomas Parker was born on 23 July 1666 in Staffordshire, the son of the Leek attorney Thomas Parker and his wife Anne. Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet, a leading figure in Irish public life for three decades, was his first cousin. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School at Newport, Shropshire, Derby School in 1680 and at Rev. Samuel Ogden's school at Derby. He was admitted at Inner Temple in 1684 and at Trinity College, Cambridge as a pensioner in 1685. On 23 April 1691, he married Janet Carrier, whose sister was the wife of William Anson and mother of the future Admiral Lord Anson. He was called to the bar in 1694. Together they had two children:
Lady Elizabeth Parker (d. 21 Feb 1747) married Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet. They had six sons and three daughters.