Thomas Holt was an English lawyer 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...

  in 1654 and 1656.

Holt was the son of Ralph Holt, of Stoke, Oxfordshire. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 23 November 1632, aged 16. He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1648. He became recorder of Abingdon.

In 1654, Holt 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 Abingdon

Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)

Abingdon was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , electing one Member of Parliament from 1558 until 1983...

 for the First Protectorate Parliament

First Protectorate Parliament

The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

. He was re-elected MP for Abingdon in 1656 for the Second Protectorate Parliament

Second Protectorate Parliament

The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

.

Holt became a bencher of his Inn in 1671 and was appointed serjeant-at-law

Serjeant-at-law

The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...

in 1677. He was knighted on 16 April 1679. In 1686 he became King's Serjeant.

Holt died at the age of 70 and was buried at St. James's, Clerkenwell.