    thumb|portrait of gresham (flemish school) dated 1544 sir thomas gresham (c. 1519 â 21 november 1579), sometimes called thomas gresham the elder, was an english merchant and financier who worked for king edward vi of england and for edward's half-sisters, queens mary i and elizabeth i. ==family and childhood== born in london and descended from an old norfolk family, gresham was one of two sons and two daughters of sir richard gresham, a leading london merchant, who for some time held the office of lord mayor, and who for his services as agent of henry viii in negotiating loans with foreign merchants received the honour of knighthood. though his father wanted thomas to become a merchant, he nevertheless sent him for some time to gonville and caius college, cambridge, but no information survives as to the duration of his residence. either before or after this he became apprentice to his uncle sir john gresham, also a merchant, who founded gresham's school in holt, norfolk in 1555: his own testimony states that he served an apprenticeship of eight years. ==agent in the low countries==  in 1543 the mercers company admitted the 24-year-old gresham as a liveryman, and in the same year he went to the low countries, where, either on his own account or on that of his father or uncle, he both carried on business as a merchant and acted in various matters as an agent for king henry viii. in 1544 he married anne ferneley, the widow of william read, a london merchant, but he still continued to reside principally in the low countries, having his headquarters at antwerp in present-day belgium, where he played the market skilfully. ==financial wizard== ===rescuing the pound=== thumb|300px|intwood hall, near norwich, one of gresham's residences when in 1551 the mismanagement of sir william dansell, king's merchant in the low countries, had brought the english government into great financial embarrassment, the authorities called in gresham to give his advice, and then chose him to carry out his own proposals. he called for the adoption of various methods&nbsp;â highly ingenious, but quite arbitrary and unfair&nbsp;â for raising the value of the pound sterling on the bourse of antwerp, and this proved so successful that in
1510s_births 1579_deaths 16th-century_English_people 16th-century_merchants Alumni_of_Gonville_and_Caius_College,_Cambridge English_merchants Founders_of_English_schools_and_colleges Gresham_College Lord_Mayors_of_London People_educated_at_St_Paul\'s_School,_London People_from_the_City_of_London People_of_the_Tudor_period