William Malachy Burke (4 August 1819 – 13 August 1879) 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 ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

Registrar General General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital records ...

Biography

Burke was born at Ballydugan, near

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, the third son of William Malachy Burke (1784–1853), a Barrister-at-law, High Sheriff Co. Galway 1822, and Anna Maria, only daughter of John Blake of Windfield. Both the Blakes and the Burkes were old Galway families, the Burkes descending from

Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connacht (; ; c.1194–1242, or 1243), was a Hiberno-Norman aristocrat who was Seneschal of Munster and Justiciar of Ireland (1228–32). Background Richard Mór de Burgh, was born towards the end of the ...

(died 1242) and the Blakes being one of the

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

. After receiving his medical education at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

, London, in 1842, Burke passed MRCS at the

London College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

. He became a

Licenciate A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...

(LKQCP) in Ireland in June 1847, and on 19 October 1863, a Fellow of the King's and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland. He served as a physician at Steevens' Hospital,

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

, and he was also Physician in Ordinary to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

, for the years 1866–68 and 1874–76. Burke was a member of the Pathology Society and the Geological Society, Dublin; of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

; a Fellow of the

British Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...

; and was a Visiting Physician to Steevens' Hospital, Dublin. He also served as a Consultant Physician at the National Eye and Ear Infirmary, St. Stephen's Green. After serving as Medical Superintendent in the General Register Office from 1864 to 1876, he succeeded Mr. Donnelly as Registrar General for Ireland, serving from 1876 to 1879, during which period he effected important improvements in the system of registration in Ireland. He married Harriet Iasbella, 1852, only daughter of the Rev. Hugh Hamilton, of Churchhill, Benmore,

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

. They had three children; William Henry Marsh, Capt. (b. 9 April 1859, d. 1892), John Albert (b. 1862), Edmund (b. 1865).Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland - 1958, p. 124 He died on 13 August 1879 from

pleuro-pneumonia Pleuropneumonia is inflammation of the lungs and pleura, pleurisy being the inflammation of the pleura alone. See also * Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia – a disease in cattle * Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia Contagious caprine pleurop ...

, at his residence at 88 St. Stephen's Green. He was interred in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. Burke was considered to be "a very amiable man and was much liked in the large social circle in which he moved."

References

External links

* http://www.groireland.ie/history3.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, William Malachy 1819 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Irish medical doctors Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium People from County Galway Medical doctors from Dublin (city)