Thomas Blanke

{{Short description|English politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Sir Thomas Blanke (died 1588) was an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London.

He was the son of a London haberdasher, also named Thomas Blanke, and the brother-in-law of James Altham, one of the Sheriffs of London in 1557.Burke, Bernard, and Burke, Ashworth Peter [https://books.google.com/books?id=93M-AQAAIAAJ&dq=%22thomas+blanke%22+mayor+london&pg=PA24] "A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I" pg. 248[https://books.google.com/books?id=g6wKAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22sir+thomas+blank%22&pg=PA538] "The Visitations of Essex" pg. 538 Like his father, Thomas Blanke followed the trade of a haberdasher. He became an alderman in 1572 and served as one of the Sheriffs of London in 1574.City of London Corporation [https://books.google.com/books?id=V7YKAAAAYAAJ&q=blanke&pg=PA599] "Analytical Index to the Series of Records Known as the Remembrancia" pg. 153

He was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1582. He had the misfortune to be elected during a severe outbreak of the plague;Radcliffe, John Netten [https://books.google.com/books?id=vONZAAAAcAAJ&dq=%22thomas+blanke%22+plague&pg=PA37] "The Pestilence in England: An Historical Sketch" pg. 37 due to the pestilence, there was no pageant celebrating his election, and he was not presented to the queen until the next May.Withington, Robert [https://archive.org/stream/englishpagentry02withrich/englishpagentry02withrich_djvu.txt] "English Pageantry: An Historical Outline, Vol. II" pg. 22

Much of his mayoralty was spent dealing with the effects of the plague, and his efforts earned him the appellation of "The Good Knight".[https://books.google.com/books?id=1DUoAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22thomas+blanke%22+pestilence&pg=PA12] "The European Magazine and London Review, Vol. 52" pg. 12 He died in 1588, at the age of 74, and was buried at St Mary-at-Hill;Thornbury, George Walter, and Valford, Edward [https://books.google.com/books?id=eOkHAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22sir+thomas+blanke%22+epitaph&pg=PA41] "Old and New London" pg. 41 his wife lived until 1596, being buried in the same tomb.Targoff, Ramie [https://books.google.com/books?id=xIZFAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22sir+thomas+blanke%22+epitaph&pg=PA25] "Posthumous Love: Eros and the Afterlife in Renaissance England" pp. 25 - 26 As he had died without issue, his estate at Abbott's Inn passed into the Altham family, who retained it until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ApwhAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22sir+thomas+blancke%22&pg=PA409] "Archaeologia: Or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity" pp. 408 - 410