Thomas Legge

Thomas Legge (; 1535 – 12 July 1607) was an English educator and playwright, prominently known for his play Richardus Tertius, which is considered to be the first history play written in England.

Early life and education Legge was the second of three sons born to Stephen and Margaret Legge in 1535. Originally from Norwich, Legge moved to Cambridge in 1552 where he matriculated to Corpus Christi College . Soon after he moved again to attend Trinity College, where he received a B.A. in 1556. He then went on to attend Oxford in 1566, where he received his master's degree.

Career In 1568, Legge became a member of the faculty at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was known to be an active tutor and a proponent of the old way of thinking in religious matters.

On 27 June 1573, Legge was appointed master of Caius College, taking many students from Jesus College with him when he left. While in office at Caius, Legge stirred up trouble by promoting John Depup, M.A. to a fellowship, which Dr. Caius disagreed with because of Depup's leanings towards Catholic opinions. Legge is also believed to have written a play about the Destruction of Jerusalem around 1577 that was taken from him before it could be made public.