English merchant, Member of Parliment, Lord Mayor of London and Philanthropist. Richard Whittington is the person on whom the English pantomime figure Dick Whittington is based. His father was a knight at arms, but he was the younger son and would not inherit the estate and there is no evidence that he himself was ever knighted. His father sent him to London where he became a successful 'mercer' or trader in fine yard goods such as velvets and silks. In 1384, he became a councilman and by 1393 he was an alderman. When the mayor died in 1397, he was appointed by the king to fill the vacancy. During this term, he was able to negotiate with the King to buy back the liberty of the City. He was subsequently elected to terms in 1398-1399, 1406-1407 and 1419-1420. In 1416 he was elected a Member of Parliament, and Henry V appointed him to supervise the completion of Westminister Abby. In his lifetime he donated much of his profit to the city. He financed the rebuilding of the Guildhall, a ward for unmarried mothers at St Thomas' Hospital, drainage systems for areas around Billingsgate and Cripplegate, the rebuilding his parish church, St Michael Paternoster Royal, a public toilet in the parish of St Martin Vintry that was cleansed by the Thames at high tide, and most of Greyfriars library. He had no heirs and his wife pre-deceased him, so he left his fortune to the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington which is still active today. Some of this was used to rebuild Newgate Prison, build the first library in Guildhall (the ancestor of the modern Guildhall Library), repair St Bartholomew's Hospital, build almshouses and an adjoining hospital and install some of the first public drinking fountains. Although he was the model on whom the 1605 English story of Dick Whittington and his cat was based, there are a number of significant differences between him and the legend. He was not orphaned, he was not poor, he was actually mayor of four times and not three, and there is no evidence that he had a cat. An early engraving of Whittington shows his hand resting on a cat, but the original engraving had his hand resting on a skull. The story itself may actually derive from a 13th century Persian folktale. The Dick Whittington in the story does marry Alice Fitzwarren which is the name of Richard Whittington's real life wife.