Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield FRS (12 October 1723 – 9 February 1795), styled Viscount Parker between 1732 and 1764, was a British peer and politician.

Background

Macclesfield was the son of George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, and Mary, daughter of Ralph Lane.

Political career

Macclesfield was returned to Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1747, a seat he held until 1754, and then represented Oxfordshire between 1754 and 1761 and Rochester between 1761 and 1764. The latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. The family seat was Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in November 1747.

Family

Lord Macclesfield married his first cousin, Mary, daughter of Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet, and Elizabeth Parker, in 1749. They had four children: He died in February 1795, aged 71, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, George. Lady Macclesfield died in May 1812.