Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth
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The Viscount Molesworth PC (Ire) |
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| Member of Parliament for Dublin County with Edward Deane |
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In office 1695–1703 |
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| Preceded by |
John Allen Chambre Brabazon |
| Succeeded by |
John Allen Joseph Deane |
| Member of Parliament for Swords with James Peppard (1703–1713) Plunket Plunket (1713–1715) |
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In office 1703–1715 |
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| Preceded by |
Thomas Ashe John Reading |
| Succeeded by |
Richard Molesworth Plunket Plunket |
| Member of Parliament for Camelford with Ambrose Manaton (1695–1696) Sidney Wortley Montagu (1696–1698) |
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In office 1695–1698 |
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| Preceded by |
Ambrose Manaton Henry Manaton |
| Succeeded by |
Henry Manaton Dennys Glynn |
| Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel with Russell Robartes |
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In office 1705–1706 |
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| Preceded by |
Sir John Molesworth Russell Robartes |
| Succeeded by |
Russell Robartes James Kendall |
| Member of Parliament for East Retford with Sir Hardolph Wastneys |
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In office 1706–1707 |
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| Preceded by |
Sir Willoughby Hickman William Levinz |
| Succeeded by | Parliament of Great Britain |
| Member of Parliament for East Retford with Sir Hardolph Wastneys |
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In office 1707–1708 |
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| Preceded by | Parliament of England |
| Succeeded by |
William Levinz Thomas White |
| Member of Parliament for Mitchell with Nathaniel Blakiston |
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In office 1715–1722 |
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| Preceded by |
Sir Henry Belasyse John Statham |
| Succeeded by |
Charles Selwyn John Hedges |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
7 September 1656 Brackenstown, Swords, Ireland |
| Died | 22 May 1725 (aged 68) Dublin, Ireland |
| Spouse(s) | Hon. Letitia Coote |
| Children | Hon. Edward Molesworth Hon. Bysshe Molesworth Hon. Hamilton Molesworth Hon. Mary Molesworth Hon. Charlotte Molesworth Hon. Letitia Molesworth Hon. William Molesworth John Molesworth, 2nd Viscount Molesworth Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth Hon. Coote Molesworth |
| Parents | Robert Molesworth Judith Bysse |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Dublin (1675, B.A.) |
Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth PC (Ire) (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) came of an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Lord Coote, Baron of Coloony, and Mary St. George.
His father Robert (d. 1656) was a Cromwellian who made a fortune in Dublin, largely by provisioning Cromwell's army; Robert Molesworth the younger supported William of Orange and was made William's ambassador to Denmark. In 1695 he became a prominent member of the Privy Council of Ireland. The same year he stood for Dublin County in the Irish House of Commons, a seat he held until 1703. Subsequently, he represented Swords until 1715. In the following year, he was created Viscount Molesworth, of Swords, in the Peerage of Ireland.
Molesworth's An Account of Denmark, as it was in the Year 1692 (published 1694) was somewhat influential in the burgeoning field of political science in the period. He made a case for comparative political analysis, comparing the political situation of a country to the health of an individual; a disease, he reasoned, can only be diagnosed by comparing it to its instantiation in other people (Thompson, 495).
Molesworth is one of the ancestors of Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who married Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Elizabeth II.
Robert Molesworth was born two days after his fathers' death on 9 September 1656; his mother Judith Bysse later remarried Sir William Tichborne of Beaulieu. He was probably raised by his mothers' family at Brackenstown. His grandfather, John Bysse, rose to become Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer under Charles II. In 1675, Robert graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with a B.A.. On 15 August 1676, shortly before his 20th birthday, he was married in Dublin to Letitia Coote, third daughter of Richard Coote (1620–1683), 1st Baron Colooney, and Mary St. George, daughter of George St. George, Deputy Admiral of Connaught. Letitia's brother Richard was created Earl of Bellomont and served as Governor of New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire for William III from 1697 until his sudden death in 1701. Robert and Letitia Molesworth subsequently settled at the Bysse seat, Brackenstown House, where according to a letter of 1721 Letitia bore seventeen children, nine of whom were still living at the time.
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