What stage character is based on a real life medieval merchant, politician and Mayor of London?
Richard Whittington Richard Whittington Sir Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale "Dick Whittington and His Cat". He was four times Lord Mayor of London, a member of parliament and a sheriff of London. In his lifetime he financed a number of public projects, such as drainage systems in poor areas of medieval London, and a hospital ward for unmarried mothers. He bequeathed his fortune to form the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington which, nearly 600 years later, continues to assist people
John Gayer (Lord Mayor of London) John Gayer (Lord Mayor of London) John Gayer or Gayre (died 20 July 1649) was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1646. He was born in Plymouth, eldest son of John Gayer senior, a merchsnt, and Margaret Trelawney. Both his parents were Cornish by birth: the Gayer family came originally from Liskeard. Gayer moved to London, and at one stage of his career spent some years in Syria, where a strange event later led him to institute the Lion Sermon. He became a city of London merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.