William Clement 1745-1759

William Clement was born in Co. Monaghan in 1707. He entered Trinity College on 28^th April 1722, aged just 14, and became a Scholar in 1724. He graduated BA in 1726, MA in 1731 and was elected a Fellow in 1733 and Senior Fellow in 1743. He graduated MB (medicine) in 1747 and MD (medicine) in 1748. He lectured on botany (1733-1763). He was the third Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy (1745 to 1759). From 1750-1759 he was the Donegall Lecturer in Mathematics and he served as Vice-Provost from 1753 to 1782. In 1761 he was appointed Regius Professor of Physic (medicine). He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity College in 1761 and MP for Dublin city (1771 to 1782). In the 18^th Century, Fellows of the College were expected to be celibate. Clement, however, was ‘secretly married’ to Mary Coxe around the time that he was elected a Fellow. Later he obtained a royal dispensation to be married to Mary. He died on January 15^th, 1782, and is buried in the chapel of Trinity College.

Sources

1. Thomas Ulick Sadlier (1935), Alumni Dublinenses: a register of students, graduates, professors, and Provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593-1860), Thom Co Ltd, page 156, image 179 https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/70795b624
2. Linde Lunney (2009), Clement, William, Dictionary of Irish Biography, https://www.dib.ie/biography/clement-william-a1733
3. TCD botany (last updated 24 Feb 2011), William Clements, TCD https://www.tcd.ie/Botany/tercentenary/300-years/chairs/william-clements.php
4. Eric Finch (2016), Three Centuries of Physics in Trinity College Dublin, Living Edition