Thomas Atkins

Thomas Atkins was Lord Mayor of London and an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and from 1647 to 1653 and was Lord Mayor of London in 1644. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.

Biography Atkins was the son of John Atkins of King's Lynn, Norfolk. He was an alderman of Norwich, and then an alderman of the City of London for Bridge Without, from Lime Street. He was Sheriff of London in 1637, and colonel of the Red Regiment, London Trained Bands, in 1642.

In April 1640, Atkins was elected member of parliament for Norwich in the Short Parliament. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1640 with three other aldermen – Nicholas Rainton, Thomas Soame and John Gayre – for refusing to list the inhabitants of his ward who were able to contribute £50 or more to a loan for King Charles. During the Civil War he was colonel of the Norwich city militia. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1644. He was Father of the City in 1658 and was discharged from his position as Alderman on 12 February 1661.