Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his assassination in 1170 and was also popular as Saint Thomas of Canterbury or Thomas of London. He was the son of Gilbert and Matilda Becket. Over the course of history his father’s exact profession has somewhere been lost but it is believed that they were financially well off and Thomas received the best of education available. After school, he attended the University of Paris for a year and in the same time his father suffered a financial setback. To pay for his expenses he did secretarial work in a couple of offices before joining the household of Theobald, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. With his rigorous work ethic and remarkable diplomatic skills he won over the archbishop and became his most trusted employee. Theobald sent him to the University of Bologna to study canon law and when he returned, bestowed upon him several offices including that of deacon and later on the office of archdeacon. His life moved up a notch when he met King Henry II and became his Chancellor; the two developed a meaningful working relationship based on mutual admiration and respect. Trouble began brewing when the king elevated Thomas to the status of Archbishop, which ultimately led to the latter’s controversial assassination