Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683), known as
Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1631, as
Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1631 to 1661, and as
The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1672, was a prominent
English politician during the
Interregnum and during the reign of
King Charles II. A founder of the
Whig party, he is also remembered as the patron of
John Locke.