Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson

Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton (7 July 1786 – 1 November 1835), was the 2nd Earl Nelson.

He was the son of Thomas Bolton and Susannah Nelson, daughter of the Rev. Edmund Nelson and was educated at Norwich High School and St Peter's College, Cambridge, graduating MA in 1814. He was the nephew of Admiral Horatio Nelson, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar, etc. He married Frances Elizabeth Eyre, daughter of John Maurice Eyre of Landford, Wiltshire, on 21 February 1821. They had seven children:

• Horatio Nelson, 3rd Earl Nelson (1823–1913)
• John Horatio Nelson (1825–1917)
• Frances Catherine Bolton (1827–1877)
• Susannah Bolton (1829–1900)
• Maurice Horatio Nelson (1832–1914)
• Edward Foyle Bolton (1833–1859)
• Henry Bolton (1835–1863)

He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1834.

He inherited the titles of Earl Nelson, Viscount Merton and Baron Nelson from his uncle William Nelson, 1st Earl Nelson, who died on 28 February 1835 without surviving male issue. Bolton changed his name to Nelson on inheriting the earldom.