Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
（重定向自Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of）
![](/Images/godic/202502/10/Anthony_Ashley-Cooper,_1st_Earl_of_Shaftesbury1609.jpg")
![Location of Dorset in England. Anthony Ashley Cooper was born in Dorset in 1621, and he would maintain important links with Dorset throughout his political career.](/Images/godic/202502/10/EnglandDorset.svg1609.png")
![The Gate of Lincoln's Inn. Cooper attended Lincoln's Inn, beginning in 1638, to receive an education in the laws of England. Throughout his political career, Cooper posed as a defender of the rule of law, at various points in his career breaking with both Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) and Charles II (1630–1685) when he perceived they were subverting the rule of law and introducing arbitrary government.](/Images/godic/202502/10/Lincoln's_Inn_Gate1610.jpg")
![Cooper's father-in-law Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry (1578–1640), who served as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal 1625–1640. Cooper first entered politics under Lord Coventry's tutelage.](/Images/godic/202502/10/1stLordCoventry1610.jpg")
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683), known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1630, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1630 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.