Trial for High Treason
More is tried in Westminster Hall and convicted of high treason.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Thomas More Biography and Timeline — Page 4
Follow Thomas More through 147 dated historical records for England.
Thomas More, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
147Distinct records
4 of 4Page
1535–2000Years on this page
1535
Act of Succession
He believed he could not be convicted unless he explicitly denied that the king headed the Church, so he refused to answer all questions.
Act of Succession
Thomas Cromwell, the most powerful of the King's advisers, produces the Solicitor General, Richard Rich, to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the King was the legitimate head of the Church.
Act of Succession
Thomas More was charged with high treason for denying the validity of the Act of Succession.
Execution
Sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors) but the King commutes this to execution by beheading
Treason
Charged with high treason for denying the validity of the Act of Succession, More believes he cannot be convicted as long as he did not explicitly deny that the king was the head of the Church, and he therefore refuses to answer all questions
Treason
Indicted of High Treason at Westminster Hall & condemned to death
Trial
Charged with high treason for denying the validity of the Act of Succession, More believes he cannot be convicted as long as he did not explicitly deny that the king was the head of the Church, and he therefore refuses to answer all questions
Trial
More is tried before a panel of judges that includes the new Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, as well as Anne Boleyns father, brother, and uncle.
Trial
Thomas Cromwell, the most powerful of the King's advisers, produces the Solicitor General, Richard Rich, to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the King was the legitimate head of the Church.
Trial
Sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors) but the King commutes this to execution by beheading. Indicted of High Treason at Westminster Hall & condemned to death. Before his sentencing, More speaks freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be the head of the spirituality"
Execution of Thomas More
Thomas More is executed on Tower Hill after refusing the royal supremacy oath.
Death of Thomas More
Death of Thomas More
Execution
While on the scaffold declares that he died "the King's good servant, but Gods first". Executed for refusing to acknowledge the act of supremacy
Supremacy
While on the scaffold declares that he died "the King's good servant, but Gods first". Executed for refusing to acknowledge the act of supremacy
Execution
Henry VIII commutes Mores sentence to beheading & permits Mores family to attend
Supremacy
More had not expressly denied the royal supremacy but refuses to assent to it
Treason Act
More is tried, and found guilty, under the Treason Act 1534
Treason
More is tried, and found guilty, under the Treason Act 1534
Trial
More is tried, and found guilty, under the Treason Act 1534
Trial
More had not expressly denied the royal supremacy but refuses to assent to it
1886
Canonization
Thomas More is beatified
1935
Canonization
St Thomas More shares his feast day, June 22 on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, with Saint John Fisher, the only remaining loyal Bishop owing to the deaths of eight bishops during the English Reformation
Reformation, The
St Thomas More shares his feast day, June 22 on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, with Saint John Fisher, the only remaining loyal Bishop owing to the deaths of eight bishops during the English Reformation
Canonization
Four hundred years after his death, Pope Pius XI canonizes St Thomas More in the Roman Catholic Church, and later declared Patron Saint of politicians and statesmen by Pope John Paul II
1980
Canonization
Sir Thomas More is added to the Church of Englands calendar of saints
2000
Canonization
John Paul II declares More "absolute priority of God in the heart of public affairs"
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.