Richard Thornton

Richard Thornton (20 September 1776 – 20 June 1865) was an English millionaire. He died in Merton, Surrey and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London. On his death, Richard Thornton left an estate of £2,800,000, which is the largest fortune to have been valued for probate in Great Britain before 1870. Richard Thornton was a merchant and trader, notably in Baltic goods. He was also a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company (a Livery Company of the City of London), of which he became Master in 1836. He personally funded the new almshouses built for the Leathersellers' Company at Barnet, where his bust (by Thomas Earle) is still preserved and a nearby road is named Thornton Road in his honour. The Leathersellers' Company also has a portrait of Thornton painted in 1838 by Frederick Yeates Hurlstone.