| Authorised form of name | Southwell; Edward (1671 - 1730); civil servant |
| Dates | 1671 - 1730 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | In the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 4 September 1671 |
| Place of death | King's Weston [Kingsweston], Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of death | 4 December 1730 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
King's Weston [Kingsweston], Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Activity | Education:
Educated at home under the supervision of his father, advised by Sir William Petty (FRS 1660); Merton College, Oxford; Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1681)
Career:
Chief Prothonotary of the common Pleas, Ireland (1692); MP (Ireland) for Kinsale (1692, 1695, 1713-1730); MP for Dublin University (1703); Clerk of the Council Extraordinary (1693); travelled to Holland (1696); Joint Commissioner of the Privy Seal (1701); Vice-Admiral of Munster (1701); Principal Secretary of State for Ireland (1702); Clerk to the Privy Council of Great Britain (1708); MP for Rye (1702-1708); MP for Tregony (1710-1713); MP for Preston (1713-1715) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 30/11/1692 |
| Age at election | 21 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council 1693-1695, 1697-1698 |
| Other Royal Society activity | Frequent correspondent to the Society on various aspects of natural philosophy, including chemistry and natural history |
| Relationships | Parents: Sir Robert Southwell (FRS 1663) and Elizabeth Dering
Married: 1) Elizabeth Cromwell; 2) Anne Blathwaite
Additional relatives: father-in-law Vere Essex Cromwell, Earl of Ardglass |
| OtherInfo | During his time in Holland, Southwell met Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (FRS 1680) and further developed his own interest in natural philosophy.
In 1718, Southwell joined the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). SPG was formed in 1701 and was a Church of England missionary organisation aiming to establish new churches in colonised regions, limiting the influence of, for example, Quakers and converting Native Americans and free and enslaved Africans and African Americans to Christianity. As part of its activity in Barbados, the SPG later became owners of a sugar plantation that exploited enslaved people for labour. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB (Southwell, Sir Robert); Foster; LI
References:
Glasson, T. 2012. 'The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts', in Atlantic History [DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199730414-0067; last accessed 28/11/22] |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/45763258 |
| Code | NA5727 |