Anderson, Robert
This is a co-subject for the entry on Anderson, Sir Samuel Lee. View the original entry....
Babington, Sir Anthony Brutus
Babington, Sir Anthony Brutus (1877–1972), lawyer and politician, was born 24 November 1877, eldest son of Hume Babington, architect and civil engineer, of Creevagh House, Co. Londonderry, with an estate of 1,540 acres in 1876. The family were direct descendants of…...
Bladen, William
Bladen, William (c.1585–1663), printer and bookseller, was born in England, son of Thomas Bladen, yeoman of Derbyshire; nothing is known of his mother. In 1602 he became an apprentice in the London Stationers’ company, being freed on 7 May 1610. Thereafter he worked in…...
Boyce, James
Boyce, James (1909–66), actor and broadcaster, was born on 17 March 1909 in Belfast, the oldest of three sons of Hugh Boyce, a coachbuilder, and his wife Ellen (née Hayes), a dressmaker before marriage. The family, who were Christian Brethren in religion, lived in Rosebury Road, Ormeau…...
Boyd, John
Boyd, John (1912–2002), radio producer and playwright, was born 19 July 1912 at 9 Baskin Street, in a working-class area of east Belfast, the first of three children (two boys and a girl) of Robert Boyd, a fireman on steam engines and later an engine driver, and Jane Boyd (née Leeman).…...
Bruce, William
Bruce, William (1702–55), publisher and writer, was born in Killyleagh, Co. Down, the youngest of the three sons of the Rev. James Bruce (qv) (1660?–1730), and his wife, Margaret (née Trail), of Tullychin (d. 1706). He was educated at the…...
Bryce, James
Bryce, James (1838–1922), 1st Viscount Bryce , politician, historian, jurist, and chief secretary for Ireland (1905–7), was born 10 May 1838 in a small terraced house in Arthur St., Belfast, eldest of two sons and two daughters of James Bryce…...
Caldwell, Andrew
Caldwell, Andrew (1733–1808), barrister, politician, and social figure, was born on 19 December 1733, the first of three sons of Charles Caldwell (1707–76), solicitor to the commissioners of revenue and agent to Lord Bessborough, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin…...
Craig, James Humbert
Craig, James Humbert (1877–1944), landscape painter, was born 12 July 1877 at 16 Brougham St., Belfast, second of five children and the only son of Alexander Craig, wholesale merchant, and his wife Marie Metezzen, a Swiss national, who had married in Belfast in 1874. Soon after…...
Denny, Sir Edward
Denny, Sir Edward (1796–1889), MP and hymn-writer, was born 2 October 1796 in Dublin, eldest son of Sir Edward Denny, 3rd baronet, of Tralee Castle, Co. Kerry, and Elizabeth Denny, daughter and heir of Robert Day, MP. Educated at Eton, and later Exeter College, Oxford, he…...
Ellis, James (‘Jimmy’)
Ellis, James (‘Jimmy’) (1931–2014), actor and theatre director, was born on 15 March 1931 in his aunt’s house at 13 Gawn Street, Belfast, the younger of two children and only son of James Ellis senior, a sheet-metal worker at Harland & Wolff shipyard, and his mother Matilda (‘Tilly…...
Findlater, Sir William
Findlater, Sir William (1824–1906), solicitor and MP, was born 1 January 1824, the only son of William Findlater, of Londonderry, and his wife Sophia (née Huffington) of Fahan, Co. Donegal. His father, who had been born in Scotland, died in 1831. With his three sisters, he spent…...
Gibson, Sir Maurice
Gibson, Sir Maurice (1913–87), judge, was born 1 May 1913 in Belfast, son of William James Gibson, chemist, and his wife, Edith Mary. He was educated at the RBAI and took a first-class honours degree at…...
Gordon, John
Gordon, John (1849–1922), high court judge and politician, was born in Co. Down on 23 November 1849, eldest son of Samuel Gordon, of Shankill House, Co. Down, and his wife Arabella Barclay. A presbyterian, he was educated at the …...
Graham, Edgar Samuel David
Graham, Edgar Samuel David (1954–1983), politician, was born 24 February 1954 at Massereene Hospital, Antrim, son of David Norman Graham of Whinney Hill, Randalstown, Co. Antrim, and his wife Annie Matilda (née Graham); he had one sister. Grahams had farmed in Randalstown for centuries…...
Greer, Samuel McCurdy
Greer, Samuel McCurdy (1809–80), barrister, judge, and politician, was born 20 July 1809 in Springvale, Co. Londonderry, the eldest son of Rev. Thomas Greer, presbyterian minister of Dunboe, Co. Londonderry, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Adam Caldwell,…...
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig (1931–2013), thief, variously described as the 'king of the cat burglars' and 'the human fly', was born on 18 February 1931 in Belfast, the younger of two children, to Frederick Arnott Gulston, chief commercial traveller for White, Tompkins and Courage…...
Haddick, Victor Anderson
Haddick, Victor Anderson (1887–1950), soldier, traveller, writer, and film maker and promoter, was born 14 June 1887 at Crinkill (Crinkle), Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co. (Offaly), the eldest son of Richard J. Haddick, a soldier, and his wife Jane Anne (née Anderson). He was educated…...
Henderson, James
This is a co-subject for the entry on Henderson, James. View the original entry....
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1878–1952), folk-song collector, was born in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, youngest among five sons of William Henry and Mary Henry (née Biggart). He had two sisters; one of his brothers became town clerk of Coleraine. Educated locally, he entered the customs…...
Heron, (Mary) Dorothea
Heron, (Mary) Dorothea (1896–1960), first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, was born on 19 August 1896 at 68 Harcourt Street, Dublin, the home and solicitor’s office of her maternal grandparents, William and Dorothea Jameson. Usually known as Dorothea or ‘Deasie’ to her…...
Hinde, John Wilfrid
Hinde, John Wilfrid (1916–97), photographer and postcard manufacturer, was born 17 May 1916 in Street, Somerset, England, into a close-knit Quaker family, who later became Christian Scientist. His great-grandfather was James Clark, co-founder of the Clark's footwear company. During…...
Hitchcock, Reginald Ingram Montgomery (‘Rex Ingram’)
Hitchcock, Reginald Ingram Montgomery (‘Rex Ingram’) (1893–1950), film director,was born 18 January 1893 at 58 Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, Dublin, the elder of two sons of Francis Ryan Montgomery Hitchcock, clergyman and Donnellan lecturer at Trinity College Dublin (1912), and his wife…...
Hone, Nathaniel
Hone, Nathaniel (1718–84), portrait painter, was born 24 April 1718, third among five sons of Nathaniel Hone, merchant of Wood Quay, Dublin, and Rebeckah Hone (née Brindley). The Hone family was presbyterian and their ancestors, some of whom were Dutch goldsmiths, had emigrated…...
Hunter, Mercy
Hunter, Mercy (1910–89), artist, was born 22 January 1910 in Belfast and christened Martha Saie Kathleen, one of the youngest of four daughters of the Rev. William Hunter, presbyterian minister; there was also at least one son. His wife was a Russian woman, Alice Beyer; on the day…...