Biographies A-Z

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Welsh, Elizabeth

Welsh, Elizabeth (1843–1921), pioneering woman academic and mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, was born 31 March 1843 in Co. Down, eldest among four daughters of John Welsh of Gransha, Kircubbin, Co. Down, a farmer on over a hundred acres, probably prosperous and possibly also a…

Went, Arthur Edward James

Went, Arthur Edward James (1910–80), fisheries biologist and historian, was born 21 January 1910 in London, first child and only son of Edward B. Went and Louisa A. Went of Mitcham, Surrey. He left school at the age of 15 to work in a chemical laboratory but in his spare time…

Wentworth, D'Arcy

Wentworth, D'Arcy (1762–1827), surgeon and colonial administrator, was born 14 February 1762 near Portadown, Co. Armagh, the sixth of eight children of D'Arcy Wentworth, innkeeper, and his wife Martha (née Dickson/Dixon) of Seagoe, Co. Armagh. His family, who were descended from…

Wentworth, Sir Thomas

Wentworth, Sir Thomas (1593–1641), earl of Strafford, lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 13 April 1593 in Chancery Lane, London, second but eldest surviving son of William Wentworth of Wentworth House, West Riding, Yorkshire, and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Atkinson of…

Werner, Louis Joseph

Werner, Louis Joseph (c.1858–1936), ophthalmologist, was born in Dublin, one of the three sons of the French artist and portrait painter Louis Wernerife. The Franco–Prussian War had forced the emigration of his parents from Alsace to Ireland, via London. Setting up a…

Wesley, Garrett

Wesley, Garrett (1735–81), amateur musician, politician, and 1st earl of Mornington , was born 19 July 1735, probably at Dangan Castle, Co. Meath, the only surviving son of Richard Wesley (originally Colley), later 1st Baron Mornington, and Elizabeth Wesley (née Sale). Educated by…

Wesley, John

Wesley, John (1703–91), evangelical preacher and church founder, was born 17 June 1703 in Epworth rectory, Lincolnshire, England, thirteenth or fourteenth child and third eldest son of Samuel Wesley, rector, and Susanna Wesley (née Annesley), both of Lincolnshire. He received his…

Wesley, Richard (Colley)

Wesley, Richard (Colley) (c.1690–1758), politician and 1st Baron Mornington , was born Richard Colley, near Edenderry, King's Co. (Offaly), sixth and youngest son of Henry Colley, of Castle Carbery, Co. Kildare, politician and landowner, and Mary Colley (née Usher).…

West, Francis Robert

West, Francis Robert (c.1749–1809), artist, was born in Dublin, eldest son of Robert West (qv), artist and founder of a school of drawing which from 1746 was subsidised by the Dublin Society. After Robert West's death (October 1770…

West, Harry (Henry William)

West, Harry (Henry William) (1917–2004), farmer and politician, was born in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, on 27 March 1917, eldest child and only son (he had five sisters) of William West, farmer and former secretary of Fermanagh County Council, and his wife Harriet (née Spence). West's…

West, John

West, John (1812–87), chartist and textile worker, was born 20 February 1812 in Dublin. His father died when he was a child and he was taken by his mother to live in Manchester; no other details of his family are known. He started work as an adolescent in the textile trade, and…

Weston, Nicholas

Weston, Nicholas (d. 1617), merchant, was the son of John Weston, a merchant of Drogheda, and his wife Hamonella, daughter of Nicholas Merchant, also a Drogheda merchant. In 1577 Nicholas was admitted a citizen of Dublin and lived on the High Street. He rose rapidly up the city's…

Weston, Robert

Weston, Robert (d. 1573), lord chancellor of Ireland, was the third son of John Weston of Lichfield, Staffordshire, and his wife Cecilia, who was a sister to Ralph Neville, 4th earl of Westmorland. Educated at Oxford, he was a fellow of All Souls college in 1536, and became dean…

West, Robert

West, Robert (d. 1770), painter, draughtsman, and art teacher, was born in Waterford city, the son of an alderman. Little is known about his early years, except that he studied in Paris (c.1735) under François Boucher and Carle Vanloo, and supposedly earned the first…

West, Robert

West, Robert (d. 1790), stuccodore and Dublin property developer, was probably born in Dublin between c.1720 and 1730. His family background and early life is unknown but it is possible that he was descended from a long line of Dublin-based builders and artisans such as…

West, Robert Lucius

West, Robert Lucius (c.1774–1850), painter, was born in Dublin, son of Francis Robert West (qv), painter and master of the Dublin Society figure school, and his second wife, Ellen (née Walsh). His grandfather,…

Westropp, Thomas Johnson

Westropp, Thomas Johnson (1860–1922), antiquarian, was born 16 August 1860 at Attyflin, near Patrickswell, Co. Limerick, son (and only surviving child) of John Westropp and his second wife and cousin, Charlotte Louisa Whitehead. His father, a substantial landowner with estates in…

West, Sir Raymond

West, Sir Raymond (1832–1912), Indian civil servant and judge, was born 18 September 1832 at Ballyloughrane, Co. Kerry, son of Frederick Henry West, journalist, and his wife Frances, daughter of Richard Raymond of Ballyloughrane. His father neglected his own career, the family…

West, Trevor

West, Trevor (1938–2012), mathematician, politician and sportsman, was born on 8 May 1938 in Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, Co. Cork, and Dorothy Trevor West (née McNeill), of Charleston, Ballinacurra, Co. Cork, who was CEO of…

Wetenhall, Edward

Wetenhall, Edward (1636–1713), Church of Ireland bishop of Cork and Ross, and later of Kilmore, was born 7 October 1636 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England; no details of his parents are available. He was initially educated at Westminster School, being admitted as a King's…

Whaley, Richard Chapel (Burn-Chapel)

This is a co-subject for the entry on Whaley, Thomas (‘Buck’). View the original entry.

Whaley, Thomas (‘Buck’)

Whaley, Thomas (‘Buck’) (1766–1800), politician and rake, was born 15 December 1766, son of Richard Chapel Whaley (1700–69) a wealthy landowner, of Whaley Abbey, Co. Wicklow, and the only son of Richard Whaley (a. 1663–1725) and his wife Susanna, daughter of John Whaley…

Whalley, John

Whalley, John (1653–1724), quack, astrologer, and compiler of almanacs, was born 20 April 1653, son of a Cromwellian adventurer; no further details of his parents are known. Working as a cobbler in England before arriving in Dublin (March 1682), he compiled his first almanac the…

Wharton, Thomas

Wharton, Thomas (1648–1715), 1st marquess of Wharton , lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born in August 1648 at Watford in Hertfordshire. He was the third but first surviving son of Philip, 4th Baron Wharton, and his second wife, Jane. His father was a presbyterian and Thomas, after…

Whately, Richard

Whately, Richard (1787–1863), Church of Ireland archbishop of Dublin, was born 1 February 1787 in Cavendish Square, London, youngest of nine children of Joseph Whately, then vicar of Widford, Hertfordshire, and later prebendary of Bristol, and Jane Whately (née Plumer), whose…