Background
Potter was the second son of John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born in 1718. Through his father"s interest, he was able to secure the Recordership of Bath, a lucrative office.
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Thomas Potter
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University of Oxford. Christ Church.
Career
He acquired a law degree at Christ Church, Oxford, and was admitted to the Middle Temple. Originally a member for Street Germans, in 1754 he was elected as Member of Parliament for Aylesbury, a seat controlled by the powerful Grenville family with whom he was associated from then on. In 1756 he became a Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, another lucrative post, which did not require him to move to Ireland.
Potter acquired a reputation as a leading rake.
He was later accused of corrupting Wilkes who had been relatively innocent until that point. He was a staunch supporter of Britain"s participation in the Seven Years War.
Potter was in ill health for a long time, suffering in particular from gout. In 1759 he died at Bath at the age of forty one.
He was believed to be the author of Essay on Woman, a crude parody of Alexander Pope"s Essay on Manitoba
The authorship of this was later attributed to John Wilkes, when it was read out in the House of Lords, during his expulsion from parliament in 1764.
Membership
11th Parliament of Great Britain. 10th Parliament of Great Britain]
He was a recognised member of the Hellfire Club, in Buckinghamshire, founded by Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer.
