John Law (1745–1810) was an English mathematician and clergyman who began his career as a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Christ's College, Cambridge, and went on to become chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and

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 secon ...

bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh (1782–1787), Killala and Achonry (1787–1795), and finally of Elphin (1795–1810). He was a lifelong friend and correspondent of the philosopher

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natu ...

Early life

The son of

Edmund Law Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisl ...

, later Bishop of Carlisle, and Mary Christian, Law was born at Greystoke in Cumberland, where his father was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ's College, Cambridge, where in 1766 he graduated Bachelor of Arts with

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was ...

and was named as

second Wrangler At the University of Cambridge in England, a "Wrangler" is a student who gains first-class honours in the final year of the university's degree in mathematics. The highest-scoring student is the Senior Wrangler, the second highest is the Secon ...

.Enos Bronson,
Memoir of the Life and Character of Dr. John Law
' in ''Select Reviews of Literature, and Spirit of Foreign Magazines'', Vol. 4 (1810), online at books.google.co.uk He proceeded

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1769.

Career

Law became a

of Christ's and an Anglican clergyman, and spent several years as a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

and lecturer at Cambridge. In 1773 his father gave him his first benefices, as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Warkworth, Northumberland, and as

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

of Carlisle. In 1777 he was collated

Archdeacon of Carlisle The Archdeacon of Carlisle is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Carlisle. The archdeacon is responsible for some pastoral care and discipline of the clergy in the ancient archdeaconry of Carlisle. Sources would seem to indicate ...

. In April 1782, he went to Ireland as chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) ...

, who had large estates in Cumberland. Law was quickly nominated as

Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh The Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh, comprising the southern part of County Galway and a small area of County Roscommon, Ireland. In 1834, Clonfert and Kilmacduagh ...

on 26 July 1782 and consecrated on 21 September. The same year, he graduated Doctor of Divinity. The appointment to Clonfert was unexpected. It was later reported that the Duke of Portland, after a long legal battle with Sir James Lowther over estates in Carlisle, was anxious to reward a man who had helped him in that matter with other preferments then held by Law. Law was a lifelong friend of

, with whom he corresponded for decades.

, Matthew Eddy, David M. Knight, ''Natural Theology: or, evidence of the existence and attributes of the Deity''
p. 328
online at books.google.co.uk Paley and Law had been friends at Cambridge, where Law lectured on mathematics and Paley on

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and

morals Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

. When Law became Bishop of Clonfert, Paley was his successor as Archdeacon of Carlisle, and it was the urging of Law which led Paley to expand his Cambridge lectures into his book ''The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy'' (1785). In that work, the chapter on ''Reverencing the Deity'' was ascribed to Law. Among other matters, they corresponded on the scientific proofs which could be used to support a theological argument. In 1797, for instance, Law wrote to Paley: "In your chapter on divine contrivance, you must have an article on the

solar system The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

..." On taking up the post in Clonfert, Law hired the mathematician

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

as his steward, but dispensed with Howard's services in 1786 after "an unfortunate marriage". Law was translated to Killala and Achonry on 10 November 1787. Law, John (1745–1810) (DNB00) On learning that almost the whole population of his new see were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

s, he commented: "That as it was a hopeless task to make them protestants, it would answer every desirable purpose to make them ''good catholicks''." At his own expense, Law then distributed throughout the diocese a new edition of the Rev. John Gother's ''The Sincere Christian's Guide in the Choice of Religion''. He was translated again to become

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

in 1795, being nominated on 11 March and appointed by letters patent on 27 March. He died in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

on 18 March 1810 and was buried in the Chapel of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where he had founded prizes for mathematics.

Family

On 17 January 1782, while living in Carlisle, Law married Anne Thomlinson, a daughter of the Rev. William Plaskett and widow of John Thomlinson of

Blencogo Blencogo is a small farming village and former civil parish near Wigton in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the Solway Plain in the Allerdale Borough Council area, off the B3502 Wigton to Silloth road. The village is a centre for growing ...

, Cumberland, but they had no children. His wife, born on 4 August 1741, was the half-sister of James Wallace, barrister, of

Featherstone Castle Featherstone Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a large Gothic style country mansion situated on the bank of the River South Tyne about southwest of the town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, England. Medieval origins In the 11th century t ...

, Member of Parliament, Solicitor General and Attorney General, and the aunt of

Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace, PC DCL FRSE (1768 – 23 February 1844) was an English politician holding multiple key roles in the government. Early life Wallace was born at Brampton in 1768, the son of James Wallace (1729–1783), a b ...

. Law was the elder brother of Ewan Law (1747–1829), of

Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, (16 November 1750 – 13 December 1818), was an English judge. After serving as a member of parliament and Attorney General, he became Lord Chief Justice. Early life Law was born at Great Salkeld, in Cum ...

(1750–1818), who became Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and of

George Henry Law George Henry Law (12 September 1761 – 22 September 1845) was the Bishop of Chester (1812) and then, from 1824, Bishop of Bath and Wells. Born at the lodge of Peterhouse, Cambridge, of which his father Edmund Law (who later became Bishop of ...

(1761–1845),

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

and

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

. Another brother,

Thomas Law Thomas John Law (born 17 December 1992) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor, playing Peter Beale in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2006 to 2010. He was the fifth actor to reprise the role, followed by Ben H ...

(1756–1834), was a business man who settled first in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and then in 1793 in the United States, where he married as his second wife Eliza Parke Custis, a granddaughter of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

. Eliza and Thomas Law divorced in 1811.

Publications

*''A Sermon preached at the Visitation of the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London: in the church of Thaxted, in Essex, on Wednesday, 28 May 1778'' (1778)John Law,
A sermon preached at the visitation of the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London
' – details online at books.google.co.uk *''Sermon preached in

Christ Church, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

, before the Incorporated Society'' (1796) *''Sermon preached in

St Paul's Cathedral, London St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, at the meeting of the

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

children'' (1797)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, John 1745 births 1810 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge English mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society Archdeacons of Carlisle Bishops of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh Anglican bishops of Elphin Bishops of Killala and Achonry 18th-century English people People from Greystoke, Cumbria