Arthur Annesley

Annesley, Arthur, Earl of Anglesea, was born in Dublin, 10th July 1614. He was educated at Oxford, studied law, and entered Parliament for Radnorshire. When the civil war broke out, he for a time followed the fortunes of Charles, but afterwards went over to the side of the Parliament, and was sent to Ireland in 1645 as a commissioner, in which employment he did good service for the preservation of the Protestant interest. He was one of those who brought about the restoration of Charles II., and was subsequently created Earl of Anglesea, and appointed Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. He held the post of Lord Privy Seal from 1673 to 1682, when he was dismissed in consequence of a misunderstanding with the Duke of Ormond. He died 6th April 1686, aged 71. The Earl was a man of considerable independence of character, "of deep politicks, very subtle and reserved in the management of affairs, of more than ordinary parts, and one who had the command of both a smooth and a keen pen." [339] Ware enumerates nine political tracts written by him. In Notes and Queries, 2nd Series, will be found a notice of the sale of his library, and an anecdote concerning Sir Arthur Chichester having once unjustly accused him of stealing a purse, which a pet monkey had abstracted.

Sources

151. Graduates of the University of Dublin, to 16th December 1868: Rev. James H. Todd, D.D. Dublin, 1869.

332. University of Dublin; History, with Biographical Notices. William B. S. Taylor. London, 1845.

339. Ware, Sir James, Works: Walter Harris. 2 vols. Dublin, 1764.