Sir Richard Sullivan, 1st Baronet

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

Early life

Sullivan was born on 10 December 1752. He was the third son of Benjamin Sullivan of Dromeragh, Co. Cork, by his wife Bridget Limrick, daughter of Paul Limrick, D.D. Among his siblings was brother, John Sullivan, also an MP who married a daughter of George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire.

Career

With the help of his relative Laurence Sulivan, the Chairman of the British 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, Sullivan 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. Although often voting in the House of Commons, there is no record of him having made a speech there. On 22 May 1804, on Pitt's return to office, he was created a baronet of the United Kingdom.

He wrote a number of books on political issues.

Personal life

On 3 December 1778 Sullivan married Mary Lodge, a daughter of Thomas Lodge of Leeds. Together, they were the parents of:

• Richard Sullivan (d. 1789), who died young.
• Maria Sullivan (1786–1786), who died in infancy.
• Lt. Col. Sir Henry Sullivan (1785–1814), who served as an officer in the Coldstream Guards and was killed at the Battle of Bayonne in 1814. Unmarried.
• Charlotte Sullivan (1787–1873), who married William Hale, son of the Hon. Mary Grimston (daughter of the 2nd Viscount Grimston) and great-grandson of Sir Bernard Hale.
• Adm. Sir Charles Sullivan (1789–1862), who married Jean Anne Taylor and had several children, including Sir Charles and Sir Edward. 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.

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