Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (April 13, 1593 – May 12, 1641) was an English statesman, a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War.
He was born in London, the son of Sir William Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham, a member of an old Yorkshire family, and of Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Atkins of Stowell, Gloucestershire. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, became a law student at the Inner Temple in 1607, and in 1611 was knighted and married Margaret, daughter of Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland.
Wentworth entered Parliament in 1614 as Yorkshire's representative in the "Addled Parliament". He was an opponent of the policies of James I of England, confronting the king's foremost advisor and favorite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham; but it was not till the parliament of 1621, in which he sat for the same constituency, that he took part in debate. His position was ambivalent. He did not sympathize with the zeal of the popular party for war with Spain, but King James's denial of the rights and privileges of parliament seems to have caused him to join in the vindication of the claims of the House of Commons, and he supported the protestation which dissolved the third parliament of James.
In the first parliament of Charles I, June 1625, Wentworth again represented Yorkshire, and showed his hostility to the proposed war with Spain by supporting a motion for an adjournment before the house proceeded to business. He opposed the demand for war subsidies made on Buckingham's behalf. After that Parliament was dissolved in November, he was made sheriff of Yorkshire, a position which excluded him from the parliament which met in 1626. However, he was not antagonistic to the king. In January 1626 he asked for the presidency of the Council of the North, and was favourably received by Buckingham. But after the dissolution of the parliament he was dismissed from the justiceship of the peace and the office of custos rotulorum of Yorkshire, which he had held since 1615, probably because he would not support the court in forcing the country to contribute money without a parliamentary grant. In 1627, he refused to contribute to the forced loan, and was imprisoned.
In the following year, Wentworth was one of the more vocal supporters of the Petition of Right, which curbed the power of the king. Once Charles I had (grudgingly) accepted the Petition, Wentworth felt it appropriate to support the crown, saying "The authority of a king is the keystone which closeth up the arch of order and government." He was consequently branded a turncoat. Following the assassination of Buckingham, in 1628, Wentworth was finally made Lord President of the Council of the North, the duties of which were to administer the supreme Law Court of northern England. On July 22, 1628, he was created Baron Wentworth. From this position, he acted as one of two principal members (the other being Archbishop William Laud) in a team of key advisors to the king during an 11-year period of total monarchical rule without parliament (known as "Thorough").
However tyrannical Strafford's earlier conduct may have been, his offence was outside the definition of high treason; the copy of rough notes of Strafford's speech in the committee of the council, its authenticity not supported by councillors who had been present on the occasion, was not evidence which would convict in a court of law.
But by this point, Strafford had become something of a symbol for absolute monarchy, and parliament felt the need to kill this symbol off. Consequently, the House of Commons produced a bill of attainder which essentially meant that Strafford could be executed regardless of crime, simply because it was the will of Parliament that he should die. On April 13 the Commons passed the bill by a vote of 204 to 59. But the bill could still be blocked in the House of Lords of which Strafford was a member. There was considerable public feeling against Strafford, and the threat of mob violence was sufficient to persuade the Lords to give way. A scheme to win over the leaders of the parliament, and a scheme to seize the Tower and free Strafford by force, were both considered by the king; and the revelation of the army plot on May 5 caused the Lords to pass the attainder.
Strafford had served Charles with what the king felt was a massive degree of loyalty, and Charles had a serious problem with signing Strafford's death warrant as a matter of conscience. However, to refuse the will of the Parliament on this matter could seriously threaten the monarchy, and Charles was keen to stay in power. Charles had, after the passing of the attainder by the Commons, for the second time assured Strafford "upon the word of a king, you shall not suffer in life, honour or fortune." Strafford now wrote releasing the king from his engagements and declaring his willingness to die in order to reconcile Charles to his subjects.
Charles gave his assent on May 10. Strafford met his fate two days later on Tower Hill, receiving the blessing of Archbishop, who was then also imprisoned in the Tower, on his way to execution. The Earl of Strafford was executed before a crowd of about 200,000, on Tower Hill, Strafford, on May 12, 1641.