English merchant, Member of
Parliament, Lord Mayor of London and Philanthropist. Richard Whittington is
the person on whom the English pantomime figure Dick Whittington is based.
His father was a knight at arms, but he was the younger son and would not
inherit the estate and there is no evidence that he himself was ever
knighted. His father sent him to London where he became a successful
'mercer' or trader in fine yard goods such as velvets and silks.
In 1384, he became a councilman and
by 1393 he was an alderman. When the mayor died in 1397, he was appointed by
the king to fill the vacancy. During this term, he was able to negotiate
with the King to buy back the liberty of the City. He was subsequently
elected to terms in 1398-1399, 1406-1407 and 1419-1420. In 1416 he was
elected a Member of Parliament, and Henry V appointed him to supervise the
completion of Westminster Abbey.
In his lifetime he donated much of
his profit to the city. He financed the rebuilding of the Guildhall, a ward
for unmarried mothers at St Thomas' Hospital, drainage systems for areas
around Billingsgate and Cripplegate, the rebuilding his parish church, St
Michael Paternoster Royal, a public toilet in the parish of St Martin Vintry
that was cleansed by the Thames at high tide, and most of Greyfriars
library.
He had no heirs and his wife
pre-deceased him, so he left his fortune to the Charity of Sir Richard
Whittington which is still active today. Some of this was used to rebuild
Newgate Prison, build the first library in Guildhall (the ancestor of the
modern Guildhall Library), repair St Bartholomew's Hospital, build
almshouses and an adjoining hospital and install some of the first public
drinking fountains. Although he was the model on whom the 1605 English story
of Dick Whittington and his cat was based, there are a number of significant
differences between him and the legend. He was not orphaned, he was not
poor, he was actually mayor of four times and not three, and there is no
evidence that he had a cat. An early engraving of Whittington shows his hand
resting on a cat, but the original engraving had his hand resting on a
skull. The story itself may actually derive from a 13th century Persian
folktale. The Dick Whittington in the story does marry Alice Fitzwarren
which is the name of Richard Whittington's real life wife.