Owen Wynne (1652–1700) was a lawyer and civil servant in the seventeenth century.

Life

Wynne, born in 1652, was from

Llechylched Llechylched is a hamlet in Anglesey, Wales. References

Villages in Anglesey {{Anglesey-geo-stub ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, north Wales and was part of a family that claimed descent from Hwfa ap Cynddelw, lord of Llifon in the twelfth century. Wynne was educated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1668 and obtaining his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1672. He later obtained a doctorate in law and seems to have become a member of

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

in 1694. When the Welsh lawyer and academic

Sir Leoline Jenkins Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a Welsh academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g. Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer who served as Judge of the High Court of Adm ...

– who had been the Principal of Jesus College during Wynne's time in Oxford – became

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

in 1680 (and later

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

), Wynne became his confidential secretary. Wynne continued as undersecretary to the succeeding Secretaries of State until about 1690, and was secretary to the commissioners that

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

sent to William of Orange in 1688. He has been described by one historian as "an early example of the permanent civil servant." He was warden of the

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

until 1690 and, in 1693 was secretary to the commissioners for

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. He was the father of the lawyer and author William Wynne, who wrote ''The Life of Sir Leoline Jenkins'' using papers inherited from his father. Owen Wynne died in 1700.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne, Owen 1652 births 1700 deaths Welsh civil servants Welsh lawyers People from Anglesey Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Members of Doctors' Commons