Frederick William Mullins, known after 1841 as Frederick William De Moleyns (29 June 1804 – 17 March 1854), 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 in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

from 1831 to 1837, as a Whig, later termed

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

.
History of Parliament article by Stephen Farrell. Mullins was the son of the Hon. Frederick Ferriter Mullins, a

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 ...

clergyman who was Rector of Killiney,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, and the son of

Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry (25 October 1736 – 11 January 1824) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Biography Mullins was the son of William Mullins and Mary Rowan.Michael C. O'Laughlin, ''Families of Co. Kerry, Ireland'' (Irish Roots ...

. Frederick William was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and trained as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. Besides radical politics, he was also an interested follower of science.

Parliament

Mullins was a follower of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, who became his mentor and co-member for the County Kerry seat when Mullins was returned unopposed at a by-election in 1831. He was returned again in the

General Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1832, but lost his seat in 1837 when voters criticized his increasing absenteeism from the constituency.

After Parliament

In 1839 he was prosecuted at the Bail Court over offences relating to a

bill of exchange A negotiable instrument is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money, either on demand, or at a set time, whose payer is usually named on the document. More specifically, it is a document contemplated by or consisting of a ...

. In 1841, at the insistence of his cousin the 3rd Baron Ventry, he assumed the surname De Moleyns in lieu of his patronymic. The same year he obtained a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

"for the production of electricity and its application for illumination and motion". In 1854, he was prosecuted at the City of London Police Court for forging a signature to a

power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

with intent to defraud the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

of £1,500. He protested his innocence but lacking funds to defend himself he was committed to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

where he died suddenly, a week later, at the age of 49. His personal estate, then worth £750, was insufficient when his will was finally

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

d in 1891. His heir, a nephew, refused to inherit because he did not want to accept the conditions of changing his own surname to De Moleyns and living for one in every four years in County Kerry. Under the will the money passed to

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

for purpose of endowing a professorship in electrical science. The funds were insufficient so instead a trust fund, called the De Moleyns Fund, was set up in his memory by the University for the purpose of purchasing electrical equipment.

References

External links

* 1854 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 1804 births Irish barristers Irish Repeal Association MPs {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub