Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

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 ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, 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 Arms 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 th ...

. His great-grandfather, Sir Thomas Molyneux, who was originally from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, 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 office was sometimes called ...

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

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, 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 Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 3 November 1686. Molyneux practised medicine in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

sometime before 1690. He returned to Ireland after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. 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 military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Between 1695 and 1699, Molyneux represented Ratoath 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 the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

. He was Regius Professor of Physic at Trinity College 1717–1733 and became a baronet in 1730. Both he and his brother

William Molyneux William Molyneux Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (; 17 April 1656 – 11 October 1698) was an Anglo-Irish writer on science, politics and natural philosopher, natural philosophy. He is noted as a close friend of fellow philosopher John Lock ...

were philosophically minded, and were friends of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

. He married 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 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 common cockchafer (''Melolontha melolontha''), also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus '' Melolontha.'' It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-rel ...

) *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) *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) *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 Medical doctors from County Meath Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland