William Edward Hartpole 1838 1903 Lecky

LECKY, WILLIAM EDWARD HARTPOLE (1838 1903), Irish historian and essayist, was born at Newtown Park, near Dublin, on March 26, 1838, being the son of John Hartpole Lecky and his first wife, Mary Anne Tallents. Lecky was edu cated at Kingstown, Armagh, Cheltenham and Trinity college, Dublin, from which he graduated B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1863.

An early interest in theology led to the publication of

Religious Tendencies of the Age, in 186o; but this, together with a book of poems and Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland 0860, met with little success. In 1863, he made his fourth venture as an author with the Declining Sense of the Miraculous, subsequently in corporated in the History of Rationalism (1865). In spite of its length and discursiveness, the book, which is indicative through out of wide knowledge, clear thought and sound judgment, achieved an instantaneous success. His reputation was enhanced by the appearance of the History of European Morals (1869). Both books are, in a sense, an attempt to explain the same set of facts from a different standpoint ; or, in his own words, both "are an attempt to examine the merits of certain theological opinions according to the historical method. . . . The 'Morals' is a history of the imposition of those opinions upon the world and attempts to show how far their success may be accounted for by natural causes. . . . The 'Rationalism' is a history of the decay of those opinions." Lecky's marriage in 1871 with Elizabeth van Deden involved him in a multiplicity of social duties, but he did not allow these to interrupt his work. In the same year he brought out a re vised edition of Leaders of Public Opinion, but it still failed to please, and Lecky returned to his magnum opus, The History of England in the 28th Century. This work, which occupied him for

19 years, was published in 12 volumes, each of which was received with acclamation. The book is distinguished by its lucidity, reli ability and scrupulous impartiality, qualities which are most conspicuous in the section dealing with Ireland, a subject in which Lecky was intensely interested.

In 1895, he was elected member of parliament for Dublin uni versity as a Liberal Unionist and on taking his seat in the House he became a keen advocate of reform in Ireland. He supported the extension of educational facilities for Roman Catholics, and upheld Plunkett's agricultural policy, but he continued to oppose the granting of Home Rule. Lecky was the recipient of many honours. In 1897 he was made a privy councillor, in 1902 he be came one of the first members of the British Academy founded in that year, and soon after he received the Order of Merit. He died on Oct. 22, 1903, in London.

Apart from the works mentioned, Lecky wrote: Democracy and Liberty (1896, revised ed., 1899) ; The Map of Life (1899) ; and in 1903 he published a third and finally revised edition of Leaders of Public Opinion. He contributed to several periodicals and two of his lectures, The Political Value of History and The Empire, its Value and its Growth, were published in 1892 and 1893 respectively. A. collection of essays and biographical sketches was published posthum ously in 1908 by Mrs. Lecky, under the title of Historical and Political Essays.