Sir Richard Sullivan, 1st Baronet

For other people named Richard Sullivan, see Richard Sullivan (disambiguation).

Sir Richard Joseph Sullivan, 1st Baronet (10 December 1752 – 17 July 1806) was a British MP and writer.

Biography

He was born the third son of Benjamin Sullivan of Dromeragh, Co. Cork, by his wife Bridget, daughter of Paul Limrick, D.D.

With the help of Laurence Sullivan, chairman of the East India Company, he was sent early in life to India with his brother John. On his return to Europe he made a tour through various parts of England, Scotland and Wales. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 9 June 1785 and a Fellow of the Royal Society on 22 December 1785.

On 29 January 1787 he was elected MP for New Romney and returned for the same constituency at the general election on 19 June 1790. He lost his seat in 1796, but on 5 July 1802 was elected for Seaford, another of the Cinque ports. On 22 May 1804, on Pitt's return to office, Sullivan was created a baronet of the United Kingdom.

He wrote a number of books on political issues. He died at his home in Thames Ditton, Surrey, on 17 July 1806.

Family

He had married, on 3 December 1778, Mary, daughter of Thomas Lodge of Leeds. Their eldest son died young in 1789, and the title devolved on the second son, Henry (1785–1814), MP for the city of Lincoln, who fell at Toulouse on 14 April 1814. The latter was succeeded as third baronet by his brother, Sir Charles Sullivan (1789–1862), who entered the navy in February 1801 and became Admiral of the Blue.

Bibliography

• ‘An Analysis of the Political History of India. In which is considered the present situation of the East, and the connection of its several Powers with the Empire of Great Britain’ (anon.), London, 1779, 4to; 2nd edit., with the author's name, 1784, 8vo; translated into German by M. C. Sprengel, Halle, 1787, 8vo.
• ‘Thoughts on Martial Law, and on the proceedings of general Courts-Martial’ (anon.), London, 1779, 4to; 2nd edit. enlarged, with the author's name, London, 1784, 8vo.
• ‘Observations made during a Tour through parts of England, Scotland, and Wales, in a series of Letters’ (anon.), London, 1780, 4to; 2nd edit., 2 vols., London, 1785, 8vo; reprinted in Mavor's ‘British Tourists.’
• ‘Philosophical Rhapsodies: Fragments of Akbur of Betlis; containing Reflections on the Laws, Manners, Customs, and Religions of Certain Asiatic, Afric, and European Nations,’ 3 vols., London, 1784–5, 8vo.
• ‘Thoughts on the Early Ages of the Irish Nation and History, and on the Ancient Establishment of the Milesian Families in that Kingdom; with a particular reference to the descendants of Heber, the eldest son of Milesius,’ 1789, 8vo. Of this curious work two editions of one hundred copies each were privately printed.
• ‘A View of Nature, in Letters to a Traveller among the Alps, with Reflections on Atheistical Philosophy now exemplified in France’ 6 vols., London, 1794, 8vo; translated into German by E. B. G. Hebenstreit, 4 vols., Leipzig, 1795–1800, 8vo.

References

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cooper, Thompson (1898). "Sullivan, Richard Joseph". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 55. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links

• Leigh Rayment's list of baronets
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs