born 1474?, Tournai, Flanders
died Nov. 23, 1499, London, Eng.
Flemish impostor, pretender to the throne of Henry VII .
The son of a local official in Flanders, while working as a servant in Ireland in 1491, he was misidentified as royalty while dressed in his master's rich silks and was soon persuaded to impersonate Richard, duke of York, who was presumed to have been murdered with his brother in the Tower of London in 1483. Encouraged by several monarchs and other Yorkist enemies in both England and Europe, he gathered forces and supporters on the continent for an invasion. After abortive attempts in 1495 and 1496, he landed in Cornwall in 1497 but was captured and hanged when he tried to escape.