View source for Thomas Anson (politician, died 1773)

{{Short description|British Member of Parliament (c. 1695 – 1773)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    =
| name                = Thomas Anson
| honorific-suffix    =
| image               = Thomas_Anson_(c._1695_%E2%80%93_30_March_1773).jpeg
| alt                 =
| caption             = Thomas Anson.
| constituency_MP     = [[Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Lichfield]]
| parliament          = Great Britain
| majority            =
| term_start          = 1747
| term_end            = 1770
| predecessor         = {{unbulleted list| [[George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon|George Venables-Vernon]] | Sir Lister Holte, 5th Baronet}}
| successor           = {{unbulleted list| [[Thomas Gilbert (politician)|Thomas Gilbert]] | [[George Anson (1731-1789)|George Anson]] (Adams)}}
| birth_date          = c. 1695
| birth_place         =
| death_date          = {{death date|df=y|1773|3|30}}
| death_place         =
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| birthname           =
| citizenship         =
| nationality         = British
| party               =
| otherparty          = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| spouse              =
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations           = {{unbulleted list| [[George Anson, 1st Baron Anson|George Anson]] (brother) | [[George Anson (1731-1789)|George Adams]] (nephew)}}
| children            =
| residence           =
| alma_mater          =
| occupation          =
| profession          = Traveller, architect
| cabinet             =
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}}
'''Thomas Anson''', [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (c. 1695 – 30 March 1773) was a British [[Member of Parliament]], traveller and amateur architect from the [[Anson family]].
== Biography ==
Anson was the son of William Anson (1656–1720) and Isabella Carrier, sister-in-law to [[Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield]]. The family estate was [[Shugborough Hall]] in [[Staffordshire]]. Admiral [[George Anson, 1st Baron Anson]] was his younger brother and along with their cousin, [[George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield]], they were taught mathematics and navigation by Isaac Newton's friend, the mathematician [[William Jones (mathematician)|William Jones]], who was later to propose Anson's membership for the [[Royal Society]] in 1730. Anson went up to St John's College, Oxford, and later studied law at the Inner Temple.
Upon his father's death, Anson abandoned law and began the first of many travels to the continent, as was then the fashion for young men of fortune and taste. In 1732 Anson and his friend the [[Earl of Sandwich]] formed a riotous dining-club called the Society of the [[Society of Dilettanti|Dilettanti]], which also had the more serious purpose of encouraging study of Greek architecture. In 1740 Thomas briefly joined his brother George on ''The Centurion'', as he and his crew began their circumnavigation of the globe. Anson left them in order to travel to Egypt. This qualified him for the Egyptian Society and the Divan Society, the latter being a wild drinking-club of which Lord Dashwood and [[Lady Mary Wortley Montagu]] were avid members.
He was elected to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] for [[Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Lichfield]] in 1747, a seat he held until 1770.
In 1748 Anson was sent to [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] by Lord Sandwich with secret correspondence for the [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Duc de Choiseul]] and [[Madame de Pompadour]]. In Paris he bought crayons for his friend the Duchess of Bedford, and his sister-in-law, Lady Anson, sent him a long list of presents she desired.
[[File:Shugborough Hall 03.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Shugborough Hall]], Staffordshire]]
In 1762 he succeeded to the vast fortune of Spanish treasure amassed by his admiral brother. This enabled him to further indulge his passion for architecture at Shugborough. Anson and another member of the Society of the Diletantti rebuilt the house in the Greek revival style that the pair were championing in England. Anson filled Shugborough with paintings, books and ''objets d'art'', and had Vasalli paint allegories upon the ceilings. The park was strewn with temples and follies, including the mysterious [[Shepherd's Monument]], the Pagoda, Pigeon House and the Tower of the Winds. The park has been described by some as a metaphor for Lord Anson's circumnavigation of the globe. Others contend that it engages aspects of many cultures, both as a tribute to Admiral Anson's voyage, and as a representation of Thomas Anson's interest in syncretic philosophies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsden |first=Dave |title= Unveiling the Mystic Ciphers: Thomas Anson and the Shepherd's Monument Inscription |publisher= Dave Ramsden|date=December 2014|isbn= 978-1503119888 }}</ref>
Anson died unmarried in March 1773. The Anson estates were passed on to his nephew, [[George Anson (1731-1789)|George Adams]], who assumed the surname of Anson and was ancestor of the [[Earl of Lichfield|Earls of Lichfield]].
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*[http://shugborough.cmhosts.net/AcademyThomasAnsonNew-187]
*[http://www.archives.staffordshire.gov.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?&dsqIni=DServeV.ini&dsqApp=Archive2&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='K008/13')]
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{{succession box | title= [[Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Lichfield]] | with=[[Richard Leveson-Gower]] 1747&ndash;1753 | with2=[[Sir Thomas Gresley, 5th Baronet|Sir Thomas Gresley]] 1753 | with3=[[Henry Vernon (1718–1765)|Henry Vernon]] 1754, 1755&ndash;1761 | with4=[[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|Viscount Trentham]] 1754&ndash;1755 | with5=[[John Levett]] 1761&ndash;1762 | with6=[[Hugo Meynell]] 1762&ndash;1768 | with7=[[Thomas Gilbert (politician)|Thomas Gilbert]] 1768&ndash;1773 |  before=[[George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon|George Venables-Vernon]] | before2=[[Sir Lister Holte, 5th Baronet|Sir Lister Holte]] | after= [[Thomas Gilbert (politician)|Thomas Gilbert]] | after2=[[George Anson (1731-1789)|George Anson]] | years=1747&ndash;1770 }}
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[[Category:1690s births]]
[[Category:1773 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lichfield]]
[[Category:British MPs 1747–1754]]
[[Category:British MPs 1754–1761]]
[[Category:British MPs 1761–1768]]
[[Category:British MPs 1768–1774]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Anson family|Thomas]]