Sir Thomas Canon was a Welsh antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

 from 1625 to 1629.

Canon was the son of John Canon of Kilgetty

Kilgetty

Kilgetty is a village near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies at the crossing of the A477 road between St. Clears and Pembroke Dock and the A478 road between Tenby and Cardigan....

. He matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 on 5 February 1585, at the age of 17. He was sometime of Clifford's Inn

Clifford's Inn

Clifford's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street, EC4.Founded in 1344 and dissolved in 1903, most of the original structure was demolished in 1934...

 and became a student of Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

 in 1593. On 13 April 1603, he was appointed J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and of the Quorum, Pembrokeshire. He was described as " a great antiquarian, and a man of learning, enterprize, and fortune". In 1619, he was Surveyor General of Crown lands in Wales in and by deed of partnership dated 12 March 1623 was concerned with his father-in-law in an attempt to work a silver mine at St Elwys, Pembrokeshire. He took great interest in preserving the monumental brasses in St David's Cathedral

St David's Cathedral

St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...

. On 30 June 1623 he received a knighthood. He was appointed Deputy Constable of Haverfordwest Castle by the Constable Thomas Acton.

In 1625, Canon was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest (UK Parliament constituency)

Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...

. He was re-elected MP for Haverfordwest in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for Haslemere

Haslemere (UK Parliament constituency)

Haslemere was a parliamentary borough in Surrey, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1584 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1584-1640:-1640-1832:Notes- References :...

and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

Canon married a daughter of John Voyle.