Thomas More
- Category : Religion-Saint-Stigmatist
- Type : GE
- Profile : 4/6 - Opportunistic / Role Model
- Definition : Split - Small (6,53)
- Incarnation Cross : RAX Contagion 1
Biography
British writer, humanist and politician who held office under Henry VIII and became Lord Chancellor in 1529. Born to an eminent London judge, he was educated at Oxford, studying law, Greek and Latin through 1498.
More married Jane Colt and they had four children. After her death in 1511, he married a widow, Alice Middleton. His masterpiece, "Utopia" was published in 1516.
Following the death of Henry VII, More rose to great prominence. He became privy councilor under Henry VIII and master of requests in 1517. From there he became under treasurer in 1521 and then speaker of the House of Commons in 1523, which led to the position of Lord Chancellor. He was opposed to King Henry's divorce and when Henry broke with the Pope, More refused to accept the king as head of an independent English church. On 4/17/1534, he was arrested and charged with treason. One year and three months later, on 7/06/1535, 9:00 AM LAT, Tower Hill, London, he was beheaded.
More was beatified in 1886 and in 1935, 400 years after his death, he was canonized as a Roman Catholic Saint.