Thomas Clarke (judge)
Sir Thomas Clarke PC FRS (1703 – 13 November 1764) was a British judge who served as Master of the Rolls.He was the son of a carpenter and a pawnbroker from St Giles in the Fields, and was educated at Westminster School between 1715 and 1721 thanks to the help of Zachary Pearce.Clarke was evidently knowledgeable in Roman law, and was mentioned in a poem called the causidicade as a possible Solicitor General in 1742.Clarke evidently discharged his duties "with great credit" for ten years,[3] until his death in office on 13 November 1764.[2] "He left a large fortune behind him, which he had acquired solely by the practice of his profession, the greater part of it being bequeathed by him to the third earl of Macclesfield, the grandson of his old benefactor.