Michael Hicks (died 1612)
| Michael Hicks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 October 1543 |
| Died | 15 August 1612 |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Aristocrat, merchant, politician |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Colston |
| Children | Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet |
| Parent(s) | Robert Hicks Julia Arthur |
| Relatives | Baptist Hicks, 1st Viscount Campden (brother) |
Sir Michael Hicks (21 October 1543 – 15 August 1612) was an English courtier and politician who was secretary to Lord Burghley during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Michael Hicks (or Hickes) born 21 October 1543, was eldest son of Robert Hicks of Bristol, Gloucestershire, at one time a London merchant. His mother was Juliana, daughter and heiress of William Arthur of Clapham, Surrey. His younger brother Baptist was created Viscount Campden. Michael matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1559 and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1564.
Joining the household of Sir William Cecil, the future Lord Burghley, he rose to become one of Burghley's two principal secretaries at the time he was the Queen's chief minister. Taking the same position with Sir Robert Cecil after Burghley's death, Hicks became an influential figure at court and appears to have been popular. Kimber & Johnson (1771) state that he "by his ingenious education and good parts, became very polite and agreeable and was admitted into a society of learned and eminent persons, having the accomplishment of a facetious wit to recommend him", but also that "many persons, knowing what interest he had with Sir Robert ... made him their friend, at any rate, to solicit their causes with him, who was ever ... ready to gratify Sir Michael, especially where benefit was likely to accrue to him".
Hicks appeared to have possessed considerable financial abilities, and his personal friends sought his aid and counsel in their pecuniary difficulties. He lent Francis Bacon money in 1593, and between that year and 1608 Bacon sent him several appeals for further loans. Hicks proved a very friendly creditor. Bacon invariably wrote to him in amicable terms, and urged him to preserve good relations between himself and Sir Robert Cecil. To Fulke Greville, another friend, Hicks also rendered similar services. He became wealthy enough to purchase two estates, Beverstone in Gloucestershire and Ruckholt in Essex. The latter, which he acquired of a stepson about 1598, he made his chief home.
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