Edward Smyth or Smith (1665–1720) was an Irish Protestant churchman, the bishop of Down and Connor from 1699.

Life

Born at

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

in 1665, he was the son of James Smyth of Mountown,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, by his wife Francisca, daughter of Edward Dowdall of Mountown. He was elected a Scholar of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 1678, and graduated B.A. in 1681. In 1684 he proceeded M.A. and was elected a fellow. He later obtained the degrees of LL.B. in 1687, B.D. in 1694, and D.D. in 1696. In 1689, when Dublin was in the possession of James II, he fled to England, where he was recommended to the Smyrna Company, and made chaplain to the factory at Smyrna. Smyth returned to England in 1693 with a fortune, and was appointed chaplain to William III, whom he attended for four years during the war in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

. On 3 March 1696, he was made dean of

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...

. In 1697 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dublin, and on 2 April 1699 he was consecrated bishop of Down and Connor. In 1701 he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. Smyth died at

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

on 4 November 1720. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1695. He was also a member of the Philosophical Society of Dublin.

Works

Smyth was the author of sermons, and contributed papers to the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'' of the Royal Society, mainly relating to the customs of the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Family

Smyth was twice married. By his first wife whom he married circa 15 February 1696, his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of William Smyth, Bishop of Kilmore, he had Elizabeth, who married James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown. By his second wife Mary whom he married circa 19 April 1710,Registry of Deeds Book 35 Page 228 Memoria
22126
/ref> daughter of Clotworthy Skeffington, 3rd Viscount Massereene, he had two sons, Skeffington Randal and James.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Edward 1665 births 1720 deaths Bishops of Down and Connor (Church of Ireland) Fellows of the Royal Society Scholars of Trinity College Dublin Donegall Lecturers of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin Members of the Privy Council of Ireland