Sackville, Thomas

Sackville, Thomas

1st Earl of Dorset and Baron Buckhurst ( 1536-1608). English poet and statesman, known for his authorship of the last two acts of the Tragedy of Gorboduc ( 1562), an important work in the history of the English drama, the first three acts of which were written by Thomas Norton, and especially for his Induction to the 1563 edition of The Mirror For Magistrates.

The latter piece is the most famous part of the Mirror, considered by many critics to be the most outstanding poem written in England between the death of Chaucer and the publication of Spenser Shepherd's Calendar. Sackville followed his Induction with an account of the life of Henry, Duke of Buckingham, also included in the 1563 edition.

In later life, Sackville devoted himself to a public career, serving variously as a Member of Parliament, an ambassador, a member of the Privy Council, Lord Treasurer, and Chancellor of Oxford University.