Henry Brouncker, 3rd Viscount Brouncker ( – 4 January 1688) was a Restoration-era medical doctor, courtier, politician, and civil servant. He served as

Cofferer of the Household The Cofferer of the Household was formerly an office in the English and British Royal Household. Next in rank to the Comptroller, the holder paid the wages of some of the servants above and below stairs, was a member of the Board of Green Cloth, ...

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 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 ...

. 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, PRS (1620 – 5 April 1684) was an Irish born mathematician who introduced Brouncker's formula, and was the first president of the Royal Society. He was also a civil servant, serving as a commission ...

, who was the first

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected Head of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council. After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November ...

, 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. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

in 1645, by King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

, for services to the Crown.

Oxford graduate

Henry graduated from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1646 as a

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

(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, ...

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 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 parliament. T ...

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 United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size comm ...

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

, 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 English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was ...

. This was essentially an act of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. 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 diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or m ...

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 diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

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 (baptised) – January 1684) was an English politician and courtier. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn. ...

, and they had no children.

Civil servant

He was a Commissioner of Trade and Plantation in 1673. He became

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 politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

), 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 county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

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 1624 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