Statesman · 1478 – 1535

Thomas More

Little-Known Facts

  • The word 'utopia' he coined from Greek puns on 'no place' and 'good place'.
  • He reportedly joked with his executioner on the scaffold.

Myths & Misconceptions

Did Thomas More believe Utopia was a real ideal?

Scholars debate how seriously he meant it; Utopia mixes genuine social critique with irony, leaving its ideal society deliberately ambiguous.