On this day in Tudor history, 8 March 1569, evangelical reformer and Member of Parliament Richard Tracy died at his manor in Stanway, Gloucestershire.

Tracy was the cousin of Protestant martyr James Bainham and his works included the 1543 pamphlet on justification by faith: “Profe and Declaration of thys Proposition: Fayth only iustifieth”, which was dedicated to Henry VIII; the 1544 “‘A Supplycation to our most Soueraigne Lorde, Kynge Henry the Eyght” and “A Bryef and short Declaracyon made wherebye euery Chrysten Man may knowe what is a Sacrament”. In Elizabeth I’s reign, he served as a Commissioner of the Peace and Sheriff in Gloucestershire.

On this day in Tudor history, 7th March 1544, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Germaine (or German) Gardiner and priest John Larke were executed for denying the royal supremacy.

On this day in Tudor history, 6th March 1547, in the reign of King Edward VI, former Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, lost the Great Seal of his Lord Chancellorship and was confined to his home at Ely Place for abusing his authority.

Wriothesley was found guilty of issuing a commission without the knowledge or permission of the other executors of Henry VIII’s will, but it was probably more to do with his opposition to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, becoming Lord Protector.

On this day in Tudor history, 5th March 1575, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, mathematician William Oughtred was baptised at Eton College, where his father, Benjamin, was registrar and writing master.

Oughtred is responsible for developing a straight slide-rule, a gauging rod and various sundials. He also introduced the “×” symbol for multiplication and the abbreviations “sin” and “cos” for the sine and cosine functions.

Let me tell you a bit more about him…

On this day in Tudor history, 1st March 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Catholic politician and landowner, Sir Thomas Tresham, died at Rushton in Northamptonshire. He was buried at St Peter’s Church, Rushton.

Tresham was a leading politician in the reigns of Henry VIII and Mary I, and he’s an interesting Tudor chap.

Let me tell you a bit more about him…

On this day in Tudor history, 27th February 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, thirty-six-year-old diarist and Church of England clergyman, Richard Madox, died near Espirito Santo harbour, near Vitória, Brazil.

Madox served as chaplain and secretary to Captain Edward Fenton on his 1582 voyage to the Moluccas and China.

On this day in Tudor history, 26th February 1548, in the reign of King Edward VI, George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, was born. He was the eldest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, and Anne Morgan, and the grandson of Mary Boleyn.

On either 24th or 25th February 1618, sixty-five-year-old literary patron Elizabeth Carey (née Spencer), Lady Hunsdon, wife of Sir George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died from what was described “a palsie”, probably a stroke. She was buried at Westminster Abbey, in the Hunsdon family vault.

On this day in Tudor history, 24^th February 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, courtier, author and administrator, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, was born at Shottesham in Norfolk.

Northampton was the second son of courtier and poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Lady Frances de Vere.

Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor earl…

On this day in Tudor history, 17th February 1557, Henry Radcliffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex, died at Cannon Row in Westminster. He was buried firstly at St Laurence Pountney and then moved to Boreham in Essex.

Sussex, who was about 50 at his death, was the son of courtier and soldier Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex. He accompanied the king and Anne Boleyn on their 1532 Calais visit and was made a Knight of the Bath in the celebrations for Anne’s coronation in 1533. He commanded men under the Duke of Norfolk in Henry VIII’s French campaign in 1544 and was lord sewer at Edward VI’s coronation in 1547.

On this day in Tudor history, 15 February 1503, Henry Deane, administrator and Archbishop of Canterbury, died at Lambeth Palace at around the age of 63. He was laid to rest at Canterbury Cathedral in a lavish funeral.

Deane was the last monk to become Archbishop of Canterbury.

Let me give you a few facts about this archbishop…

On this day in Tudor history, 14th February 1492, in the reign of King Henry VII, magnate William Berkeley, Marquis of Berkeley, died. He was buried in the Augustinian friary in London with his second wife, Joan.

Berkeley is known for his involvement in the 1470 Battle of Nibley Green, the last English battle fought between private armies of feudal magnates.

On this day in Tudor history, 13th February 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, astrologer and physician John Harvey was baptised at Saffron Walden in Essex.

Harvey was the third son of farmer and rope maker John Harvey and his wife, Alice. His brothers were renowned scholar Gabriel Harvey and astrologer and theologian Richard Harvey.

On this day in Tudor history, 10th February 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, died at Kelvedon in Essex.

Neville was born in around 1524/1525 and was the eldest son of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, and his wife, Catherine Stafford. His maternal grandfather was Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.