Charles Francis Sheridan (June 1750 – 24 June 1806) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

lawyer, politician and writer.

Biography

Sheridan was born at 12 Dorset Street, Dublin, the elder son of the actor Thomas Sheridan and Frances Sheridan (née Chamberlaine). His younger brother was Richard Brinsley Sheridan and his sisters were Alicia Sheridan Le Fanu and Betsy Sheridan. He was educated at home by his father until 1754, when the family moved to London after a riot in his father's theatre in Dublin. In 1757, Sheridan and his family returned to Ireland briefly, before then moving to England permanently. From an early age, Sheridan was trained in public speaking by his father. In May 1777, he was appointed secretary to the British envoy in Sweden. He arrived in the country during the coup d'état which brought Gustavus III to power. He spent three years there and afterwards wrote ''A history of the late revolution in Sweden'' (1778), which was well received and later translated into French. In May 1775 he returned to England and entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

; he was called to the bar in 1780. His first legal role was as counsel for the barrack board. In 1776 Sheridan was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

as a Member of Parliament for Belturbet, largely owing to the patronage of his younger brother Richard. In 1779 he published a pamphlet entitled ''Observations'', which related to the right for Ireland to create its own laws. In 1782, Richard secured his brother a position in the Dublin Castle administration as Under-Secretary for Ireland for the military department in support of the

Second Rockingham ministry This is a list of the principal holders of government office during the second premiership of the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham for four months in 1782. The North ministry resigned on 22 March 1782 after losing the confi ...

. In 1783 he was elected to represent Rathcormack. Sheridan became associated with the Whig faction, but refused to resign his office when the Whigs lost power, and was accused by his brother of a lack of principle. He was removed from office on 8 August 1789 following the regency crisis, at which point he was granted an annual pension of £1000 by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. He left the Irish Commons in 1790. Disillusioned, he retired from politics and dedicated his final years to futile chemical and mechanical experiments. He often visited London to circulate papers proclaiming new scientific discoveries, but he was not taken seriously in the city's academic circles. In 1793 Sheridan published two pamphlets; the first an essay defending Ireland's rights as an independent kingdom and the second a statement of support for catholic relief and

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

. Sheridan's health failed rapidly and he died on 24 June 1806 at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

. In 1783, Sheridan married Letitia Christiana Bolton; they had several children together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Charles Francis 1750 births 1806 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 18th-century Irish lawyers 18th-century Irish male writers Irish Anglicans Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cavan constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies Writers from Dublin (city)