More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535) English statesman, lawyer, humanist, poet, author, saint, and a friend of Erasmus, Colet, and other leading scholars of the time. A leading figure of English humanism, More was one of the most versatile and talented men of his age. His writings include a biography of Pico della Mirandola (1510) and The History of Richard 111 (c1513, posthumously pub 1543), which was based on an earlier account by Cardinal Morton. Utopia (1516), his most famous literary work, was written in Latin. A loyal defender of Roman Catholicism he engaged in vigorous controversies with the Protestant fieretics of the time, especially with William Tyndale, against whom he wrote A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1528).

More held important positions in the government of his time, being a Member of Parliament, an envoy on several missions abroad, a court official, and ultimately Lord Chancellor, succeeding Cardinal Wolsey in 1529. Though he had been a long-time friend and favorite of Henry VIII, More was a staunch Catholic and could not accept Henry's position, announced in 1531, that the king and not the Pope was the head of the Church in England. More resigned from the Chancellorship in 1532. He wrote a justification of his position in An Apology of Sir Thomas More (1533). Two years later, Parliament passed a bill requiring that all subjects take an oath acknowledging the supremacy of Henry over all other foreign kings, including the Pope. More refused, was imprisoned, and was finally executed a year later. He was beatified in 1886 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935.

He is the subject of a memorable biography, The Life of Sir Thomas More (1557?; repr 1935), by his son-in-law William Roper, and of a modern play, A Man for All Seasons (1961), by Robert Bolt.