Thomas Potter, (5 April 1774 – 20 March 1845) was a British industrialist and Liberal politician.
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Born in April 1774 the seventh of nine children of draper John Potter and his wife Anne Hartley. He was born at Tadcaster, Yorkshire.[1]
He married firstly Elizabeth Palmer, daughter of John Westorby Palmer on 8 January 1808. They had two children; Elizabeth and Anne. Elizabeth snr died in 1810. Following her death Thomas married Esther Bayley, daughter of Thomas Bayley on 24 September 1812 and had four further children; Esther, John, Mary and Thomas.[2]
After leaving Tadcaster Thomas moved to Manchester, where he later purchsed the Buile Hill estate in Pendleton and resided there until his death.
John Potter had been a draper in Tadcaster, but sold his shop and used the capital to invest in a cotton business in Cannon Street, Manchester. Thomas and his two brothers William and Richard all worked for their father and eventually became partners in the company.[3]
John Potter and his sons were all Unitarians who had a deep concern for the poor they held meetings at his home for other liberals in Manchester. The group became known as the "little circle" was strongly influenced by the ideas of Jeremy Bentham and Joseph Priestley. The Potters objected to a system that denied such important industrial cities as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, representation in the House of Commons.
After the death of John Potter, Thomas and Richard continued with the campaign for reform. In December 1830, the group campaigned for moderate parliamentary reform. They proposed that the seats of rotten boroughs convicted of gross electoral corruption should be transferred to industrial towns. Boroughs such as Penryn and East Retford were targeted but Parliament refused to take action.
In 1831 the group drew up the petition asking the government to grant Manchester two Members of Parliament. As a result of the 1832 Reform Act Manchester had its first two Members of Parliament.
Between 1832 and 1835 Potter led a successful campaign in Manchester against church rates. After the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act in 1835, Thomas was elected to the Manchester Borough Council and became first Mayor of Manchester between 1838 and 1840. On 1 July 1840 Thomas Potter was granted a knighthood.[4]
Potter died on 20 March 1845 at the age of 70 at home at Buile Hill, Pendleton. He was buried at Ardwick Cemetery, Manchester.
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Newly created position |
Mayor of Manchester 1838-1840 |
Succeeded by William Neil |