Henry Brouncker, 3rd Viscount Brouncker ( – 4 January 1688) was an Anglo-Irish peer, courtier and politician. He served as Cofferer of the Household to Charles II, and served as

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. He was a member of parliament and a very skilled games player.

Biography

Early life

Born in 1624, most likely in Ireland, where his grandfather had been

Lord President of Munster The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munste ...

, Brouncker was the second son of William Brouncker, 1st Viscount Brouncker and Winifred Leigh. He was the younger brother of

William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker FRS ( – 5 April 1684) was an Anglo-Irish peer and mathematician who served as the president of the Royal Society from 1662 to 1677. Best known for introducing Brouncker's formula, he also worked a ...

, who was the first

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS), also known as the Royal Society of London, is the elected Head of the Royal Society who presides over meetings of the society's council. After an informal meeting (a lecture) by Christopher Wren at Gres ...

, and a well-known mathematician. His father was created a

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

in 1645, by King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

, for services to the Crown.

Oxford graduate

Henry graduated from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1646 as a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

(DM).

MP, expelled from Commons

He was Member of Parliament for

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

from 1665 to 21 April 1668. But he was expelled from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

when charges were brought against him, for allowing the Dutch fleet to escape during the

Battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the Dutch Republic, United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, at ...

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, and for ordering the sails of the English fleet to be slackened in the name of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

. This was essentially an act of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. Such a military decision, taken without the Duke's authority, was an incident seemingly without parallel, especially as his apparent motive was simply that he was fatigued with the stress and noise of the battle.

Bad reputation

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

wrote, "ever noted for hard covetous vicious man, but for his worldly craft and skill in gaming few exceeded him". He was a famous chess player. He is mentioned in the famous "Memoirs" of Philibert, comte de Gramont, in particular his preference for "Orange seller" girls. On 29 August 1667

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

called Brouncker: "a pestilent rogue, an atheist, that would have sold his king and country for 6d. almost".

Marriage

He married (in 1661) Rebecca Rodway, widow of Thomas Jermyn, brother to the

Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans (25 March 1605 (Baptism, baptised) – January 1684) was an English Cavaliers, Royalist politician, diplomat, courtier and property developer. Jermyn sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commo ...

, and they had no children.

Civil servant

He was a Commissioner of Trade and Plantation in 1673. He became Cofferer of the Household to Charles II on 9 December 1679, following the death of William Ashburnham. He vacated the office on 6 February 1685, following the death of the king. He also served as

. Henry and William, his elder brother, were on bad terms, and upon William's death in 1684, William disinherited Henry, "for reasons I think not fit to mention". He left most of his wealth to his mistress, the actress Abigail Williams-Cromwell (a cousin by marriage of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

), with whom he had lived happily outside marriage for many years. At this time, Henry did inherit the title of Viscount, however. Henry died on 4 January 1688 at Sheen Abbey,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and was buried at the Church of

St Mary Magdalene, Richmond St Mary Magdalene, Richmond, in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark, is a Grade II* listed parish church on Paradise Road, Richmond, London. The church, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene, was built in the early 16th century but has be ...

, Surrey. As he and his wife were childless, his titles became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brouncker, Henry Brouncker, 03rd Viscount 1620s births 1680s deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland English MPs 1661–1679 English chess players 17th-century English medical doctors People of the Second Anglo-Dutch War Burials at St Mary Magdalene, Richmond