Edward Worth, FRS, (1678 – 2 March 1733) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

politician, physician and book collector. He was born into a prosperous

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

family, his father being John Worth (1648–1688),

Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral The Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral is the senior cleric of the Protestant St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, elected by the chapter of the cathedral. The office was created in 1219 or 1220, by one of several charters granted to the cathedral by Ar ...

, Dublin, who was a younger son of Edward Worth (1620–1669),

Bishop of Killaloe The Bishop of Killaloe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...

and his wife Susannah Pepper. His father's eldest brother William Worth was an eminent

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. Edward's mother was named Comfort: she died in 1681. Edward was one of about ten children but only he and his brother Michael reached adulthood. Worth studied medicine in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(matriculated 1693),

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and

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(MD 1701) before practising as a doctor in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. A financial windfall from his uncle William helped him to establish a large book collection, bought from places such as London, the Netherlands, France and Dublin, in addition to those he had inherited from his father and grandfather. On his death the collection consisted of some 4,400 books, many on medicine, dating back in some cases to the fifteenth century. Worth left his library, then valued at £5,000, to

Dr Steevens' Hospital Dr Steevens' Hospital (also called Dr Steevens's Hospital) ( ga, Ospidéal an Dr Steevens), one of Ireland's most distinguished eighteenth-century medical establishments, was located at Kilmainham in Dublin Ireland. It was founded under the terms ...

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In th ...

, of which he was a governor. The hospital built a special room to house the books, which remain there today. According to a 2008 ''

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'' article, the books have been stored well and are in remarkably good condition. Dr Steevens' Hospital 1780

Edward Worth was an important figure in the Dublin of his day. He was a friend and contemporary of such people as

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

, and his library is remarkable, not only for its size and variety, but also for the condition of the books, some of which are hundreds of years old but appear almost new. Between 1715 and 1727, Worth sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. It is located on the River Barrow, near the border with County Kilkenny, and is around northeast of Waterford. In 2016 it had a population of 8,040 people, making it the ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in January 1699. Malicious gossip said that he was a very heavy drinker, especially in his last years." A perfect sot... put to bed drunk three times a day" was one comment after his death. He is buried in the family

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland ca ...

References

External links

Edward Worth Library official website
1678 births 1733 deaths Politicians from County Dublin 17th-century Irish medical doctors 18th-century Irish medical doctors Irish MPs 1715–1727 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Medical doctors from County Dublin {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub