Richard Dick Whittington

Richard Whittington was an English merchant, moneylender and lord mayor of London who became a well-known figure in legend and traditional pantomime.

Whittington, the son of a knight of Gloucestershire, became a successful cloth trader dealing in luxury fabrics as silks and velvets, and acted as a supplier of the nobles and the kings Richard II and Henry IV. By 1400 he amassed a considerable fortune and prestige.

From 1388 Whittington expanded his business interests to lucrative moneylending activities and provided substantial loans to kings Henry IV and Henry V. In return for his services, he was granted a permission to export wool without paying customs duty on it. Thanks to this privilege, his fortune was additionally augmented. After he consolidated his financial status, Richard became devoted to the politics. He served as lord mayor of London for several mandates, and became a member of parliament in 1416.

Whittington died childless. Large part of his fortune is bequeathed to charitable and public purposes. The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington continues to assist people in need even 600 years later.

Richard also served as inspiration for the English folk tale Dick Whittington and His Cat, a story of how he supposedly escaped his poverty-stricken childhood and made his fortune thanks to the ratting abilities of his cat.