Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir Thomas Molyneux, 1st Baronet FRS (14 April 1661 – 19 October 1733) was an Irish physician.

Life

Molyneux was the youngest son of Samuel Molyneux of Castle Dillon,

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

, Master Gunner of Ireland and his wife Margaret Anne Dowdall, and grandson of Daniel Molyneux,

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is t ...

. His great-grandfather,

Sir Thomas Molyneux Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Molyneux, 1st Baronet FRS (14 April 1661 – 19 October 1733) was an Irish physician. Life Molyneux was the youngest son of Samuel Molyneux of Castle Dillon, County Armagh, Master Gunner of Ireland and his wife Ma ...

, who was originally from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, had come to Ireland in about 1576, and became

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as ...

. William Molyneux, the philosopher, was his brother. 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 ...

, he became a doctor with an MA and MB in 1683, aged 22. He went to Europe and continued his medical studies, resulting in gaining the MD degree in 1687. He was admitted 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 knowledge, including mathemati ...

on 3 November 1686. Molyneux practised medicine in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

sometime before 1690. He returned to Ireland after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the Irish College of Physicians in 1692 and became the first State Physician in Ireland and also Physician General to the Army in Ireland, with the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

. Between 1695 and 1699, Molyneux represented

Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2016 census, there were 9,533 people living in Ratoa ...

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 fran ...

. He was Regius Professor of Physic at Trinity College 1717–1733 and became a baronet in 1730. Both he and his brother William Molyneux were philosophically minded, and were friends of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

. He married twice, first to Margaret, sister of the first

Earl of Wicklow Earl of Wicklow was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for Alice Howard, 1st Countess of Wicklow, Alice Howard, Dowager Viscountess Wicklow. Born Alice Forward, she was the daughter of William Forward, Member of the Irish Ho ...

, with issue of a son and daughter. The son must have died as a child. He married secondly in 1694 Catherine Howard, daughter of Ralph Howard, at that time Regius Professor of Physic at Trinity College. They had four sons and eight daughters, of whom

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

and Capel both succeeded to the baronetcy. Thomas died in 1733 at the age of 72. He was buried in St. Audoen's Church, Dublin, and there is a fine monument to him in Armagh Cathedral by the sculptor Roubiliac, with an elaborate description of his honours and genealogy."Funary Monuments & Memorials in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" Curl, J.S. pp. 23-27: Whitstable; Historical Publications; 2013 His portrait is in Armagh Museum.

Works

A partial list from the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: *A Letter from Dr. Thomas Molyneux, Fellow of the Royal Society to the Right Reverend St. George, Lord Bishop of Clogher; Concerning Swarms of Insects, That of Late Years Have Much Infested Some Parts of the Province of Connought in Ireland ''Phil. Trans''. 1695-1697 19, 741-75

(

Cockchafer The cockchafer, colloquially called Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is the name given to any of the European beetles of the genus ''Melolontha'', in the family Scarabaeidae. Once abundant throughout Europe and a major pest in the periodical ye ...

) *A Discourse Concerning the Large Horns Frequently Found under Ground in Ireland, Concluding from Them That the Great American Deer, Call'd a Moose, Was Formerly Common in That Island: With Remarks on Some Other Things Natural to That Country. By Thomas Molyneux, M. D. Fellow of the King and Queens Colledge of Physicians in Ireland, and of the Royal Society in England ''Phil. Trans.'' 1695-1697 19, 489-51

(

Irish Elk The Irish elk (''Megaloceros giganteus''), also called the giant deer or Irish deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus '' Megaloceros'' and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleist ...

) *A Letter from Dr. Thomas Molyneux to Dr. Martin Lister, Fellow of the Colledge of Physicians, and of the Royal Society, in, London: Containing Some Additional Observations on the Giants Causeway in Ireland ''Phil. Trans''. 1698 20, 209-22

(

Giants Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

) *An Essay concerning Giants. Occasioned by Some Further Remarks on the Large Humane Os Frontis, or Forehead-Bone, Mentioned in the Philosophical Transactions of February, 1684/5 Number 168. By Dr.Thomas Molyneux, M. D. Fellow of the Kingand Queens Colledge of Physicians in Ireland, and of the Royal Society in England Phil. Trans. 1700-1701 22, 487-50

*A Letter from Dr Thomas Molyneux, F. R. S. to the Right Reverend St George, Lord Bishop of Clogher in Ireland, Containing Some Thoughts concerning the Ancient Greek and Roman Lyre, and an Explanation of an Obscure Passage in One of Horace's Odes Phil. Trans. 1702-1703 23, 1267-127

Other Works: *''A Discourse Concerning the Danish Mounts, Forts and Towers in Ireland'', Part III of Gerard Boate, ''A Natural History of Ireland in Three Parts'', George & Alexander Ewing, Dublin (1726)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molyneux, Thomas 1661 births 1733 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society 17th-century Irish medical doctors 18th-century Irish medical doctors Irish MPs 1695–1699 People from County Meath Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland