Sir Thomas Hales, 2nd Baronet

[1] He was baptised on 1 March 1665/66 at Saint Peter's, Bekesbourne, Kent, England[2] He was admitted at Inner Temple in 1683 and subsequently travelled abroad in France.

His father died in 1692, and in December 1693, he inherited the baronetcy on the death of his grandfather Sir Robert Hales, who had been created a baronet at the Restoration.

[3] At the 1715 British general election Hales was returned as Whig MP for Canterbury and was then rewarded with an appointment to the commission for forfeited estates with a salary of £1,000 a year.

Hales voted for the excise bill and at the 1734 British general election, he was defeated in the poll, but was returned on petition on 11 April 1735.

[4] Hales married Mary Pym (d. 1729), daughter of Sir Charles Pym, 1st Baronet of Brymore, in 1688, and their children included: His younger brother Stephen Hales was a curate who became a scientist, inventor and philanthropist.