Birthdate: 7th February 1478
Nationality: English
Bio:
Thomas More was born in 1478 in London, England. He came from a wealthy family and received a rigorous education which included studying Latin, rhetoric, and logic. More excelled in his studies and demonstrated an intelligent and inquiring mind from a young age. He went on to study law at Oxford and became a lawyer after graduating. However, his true passion was in scholarship and using reason to pursue truth and justice.
More married young and had several children, but also maintained a deep Catholic faith and ascetic lifestyle. He immersed himself in the humanist intellectual culture of London and befriended scholars like Erasmus of Rotterdam. More began having success as a lawyer and was appointed to several prestigious government roles under King Henry VIII. However, he refused to support the king’s separation from the Catholic Church in later years, which would prove fateful.
As Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, More objected on grounds of conscience and faith. He resigned from his government roles rather than endorse the king’s actions, which were deemed heretical by the Catholic Church. Increasingly, More found himself at odds with the Protestant reforms being carried out in England under Henry. In 1534, More refused to sign an Oath of Supremacy recognizing the king as head of the Church in England.
For his principled but treasonous stance, More was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. After a flawed trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. On July 6, 1535, Thomas More was executed for treason against the king. He died courageously for upholding his Catholic faith and moral convictions in the face of immense pressure from Henry VIII. More was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1886 and canonized as a saint in 1935 in recognition of his holiness, wisdom, and defense of conscience. He remains one of the most famous English martyrs for the Catholic faith.
