Thomas White (merchant)

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Statue of Sir Thomas White in Coventry, West Midlands

Sir Thomas White (1492 – February 12, 1567) was an English cloth merchant and civic benefactor.

He was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of William White, a clothier, and brought up in London. He was twice married, to Avicia (died 1558) and to Joan. A principal member of the guild of Merchant Taylors, he served as Sheriff of London in 1547, and was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1553. He was knighted in the same year by Queen Mary I. He was a member of the commission for the trial of Lady Jane Grey.

In 1555, inspired by the example of Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity College, Oxford, White obtained a royal licence for the foundation of St John's College, Oxford, dedicated to the patron saint of the Merchant Taylors and established in the buildings of the dissolved Cistercian College of St Bernard. He was involved in the foundation of Merchant Taylors School, and made provision that scholars of the college should be nominated from pupils of the school. He also purchased Gloucester Hall and set it up in 1560 as a hall of residence for scholars; this became the basis of the later foundation of Worcester College. As a result of his philanthropy he was listed in Richard Johnson's Nine Worthies of London in 1592.

The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity was founded in 1542 and is still extant. It gives interest-free loans to aspiring businesspeople in Leicestershire and Rutland. There are several memorials to White in England and he is honoured on Leicester's Clock Tower .