| Authorised form of name | Brooke; Sir; William O'Shaughnessy (1809 - 1889) |
| Other forms of name | William Brooke |
| Other forms of surname | O'Shaughnessy |
| Dates | 1809 - 1889 |
| Place of birth | Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Date of birth | October 1809 |
| Place of death | Southsea, Hampshire |
| Date of death | 10 January 1889 |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
| Research field | Telegraphy |
| Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
MD (1829, Edinburgh)
Career:
Professor of Chemistry & Natural Philosophy, Medical & Hindu colleges of Calcutta (1835); on sick leave (1843); Assistant Surgeon, Bengal Army; Surgeon (1848); Surgeon Major (1858); Assay Master, Calcutta mint (1844-1851); experimented with submarine telegraphy across the Hooghly, Calcutta; introduced telegraphy into India (1839); Superintendent of Telegraphs, India (1852-1862); wrote on chemistry; died after a short illness
Honours:
Kt 1856
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 16/03/1843 |
| Relationships | Believed to have changed his name to Brooke to conceal an affair with Julia Greenly Sabine whilst still married to his second wife. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1889 vol 46 pp xviii-xix signed by W H P
References:
J A Bridge, 'Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, MD, FRS, FRCS, FSA: A Biographical Appreciation by an Electrical Engineer' in NR 1998 vol 52 pp 103-120, plate
Mel Gorman, 'Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, FRS (1809-1889), Anglo-Indian Forensic Chemist' in NR 1984-85 vol 39 pp 51-64, plate |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/6278722 |
| Code | NA8150 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| NLB/3/209 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to William Henry Preece, Fellow of the Royal Society | 10 April 1889 |
| EC/1843/10 | Brooke, Sir William O'Shaughnessy: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MC/7/88 | Letter from Wm O'S [William O'Shaughnessy] Brooke, Hotel Victoria, Interlaken, Switzerland, to Walter White, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society | 5 June 1864 |
| MC/7 | Volume 7 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1864-1866 |
| HS/13/186 | Letter, from William O'Shaughnessy Brooke to Sir John Herschel, dated at 8 Bentinck Terrace | 3 September 1852 |
| HS/13/185 | Letter, from William O'Shaughnessy Brooke to Sir John Herschel, dated at 73 Newman St. | 6 February 1843 |
| HS/13/184 | Letter, from William O'Shaughnessy Brooke to Sir John Herschel, dated at 14 Bernan St. | 23 January 1843 |