  thomas wriothesley, 4th earl of southampton, kg (wells, j. c. longman pronunciation dictionary. 3rd edition. harlow: pearson education limited, 2008. reye-Éths-lee; 10 march 1607 &ndash; 16 may 1667), styled lord wriothesley before 1624, was a 17th-century english statesman, a staunch supporter of charles ii who would rise to the position of lord high treasurer after the english restoration. his term as treasurer began concurrently with the assumption of power by the clarendon ministry, but his death would precede lord clarendon's impeachment from the house of commons, after which the cabal ministry took over government. lord southampton, having acceded to the earldom in 1624, attended st. john's college, cambridge. at first, he sided with the parliament supporters upon the subjects leading to the english civil war, but upon his realisation of their leaders' violence, he became a loyal supporter of charles i. while remaining very loyal to the deposed monarch, he still vied for peace, representing the king at several peace conferences (as encyclopÃ¦dia britannica notes, he attended at least two conferences: one in 1643, and one at uxbridge in 1645). he was allowed to live within england, having paid the commonwealth over Â£6000. several months after the restoration, lord southampton was appointed lord high treasurer (8 september 1660), a position in which he would serve until his death. as the encyclopÃ¦dia britannica notes, lord southampton "was remarkable for his freedom from any taint of corruption and for his efforts in the interests of economy and financial order," a noble if not completely objective view of his work as the keeper of the nation's finances. samuel pepys admired southampton's integrity and the stoicism with which he endured his painful last illness, but clearly had doubts about his competence as treasurer; in particular he graphically describe
1607_births 1667_deaths 17th-century_English_people Alumni_of_St_John\'s_College,_Cambridge Earls_of_Southampton Knights_of_the_Garter Lord-Lieutenants_of_Hampshire Lord-Lieutenants_of_Kent Lord-Lieutenants_of_Norfolk Lord-Lieutenants_of_Wiltshire Lord-Lieutenants_of_Worcestershire Lord_High_Treasurers Wriothesley_family