JACKSON, RICHARD 1720-1787

Richard Jackson was born in Ballycastle, County Antrim, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar in 1744 and became member of parliament for Weymouth and later for New Romney. He was appointed Lord of the Treasury and was known as 'Omniscient Jackson'.

JACKSON, THOMAS 1841-1915

Thomas Jackson was born in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, and was educated privately. He was a bank clerk in Belfast and went to the Agra Bank in India in 1864 and in 1866 joined the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, where he became chief manager. He was knighted in 1899 and created a baronet in 1902.

JEBB, JOHN 1775-1833

John Jebb was born in Drogheda and was educated at Celbridge, Foyle College, Derry, and Trinity College, Dublin. From being a curate in Swanlinbar in 1799 he eventually became Bishop of Limerick in 1823. He was a pioneer of the Oxford Movement. His works include Essays on Sacred Literature and Practical Theology, and his correspondence with Alexander Knox was published posthumously. He died in London. [Biography by C. Forster]

JOCELYN, ROBERT 1788-1870

Robert Jocelyn succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Roden. He was created a peer of the United Kingdom and in 1821 a Knight of St Patrick. He was Grand Master of the Orange Order and on the 12th July 1849 Orangemen paraded to Roden's estate through a Catholic district, Dolly's Brae, near Castlewellan, County Down. Troops escorted the Orangemen back through the area and there was an encounter that left a number of Catholics dead. After an investigation Roden was dismissed from the magistracy.

JOHNSON, JAMES 1747-1845

James Johnson was born in Ballinderry, County Antrim, and was apprenticed to an apothecary in Portglenone, County Antrim. After a stay of two years in Belfast he went to London and entered the navy as a surgeon. He served from 1800 to 1814 and afterwards started a medical practice in Portsmouth, where he began The Medico-Chirurgical Review. He also edited the British and Foreign Medical Review from 1836 to 1844. He served as physician-in-ordinary to William IV. He died in Brighton. [Biography by his son 1846]

JOHNSON, MARIE b.1874

Marie Johnson married Thomas Johnson, who later became leader of the Irish Labour Party. Marie and her husband made the first attempt to organise the Belfast Mill Workers. She was Secretary of the Textile Workers' Union and worked closely with James Connolly until 1912. She was a suffragist. When Winifred Carney stood for election as a Sinn Fein candidate, Marie Johnson campaigned tirelessly on her behalf.

JOHNSON, WILLIAM 1715-1774

William Johnson was born in Waringstown, County Down, and in 1738 emigrated to America, where he engaged in trade with the Indians. It is said of him that he learned the Mohawk language and accepted their manners and dress, and was consequently adopted as one of their tribe. He was made superintendent of the six nations. In 1755 Johnson, as commander-in-chief, defeated the French and received a baronetcy. George II placed him in charge of the Indians in 1756. Three years later he was given supreme command of the army. The expedition of 1760 ended in the surrender of Canada to the British. For this victory he was rewarded with a huge tract of land. After the death of his first wife he married a Mohawk woman, and they had eight children. He is remembered for his authorship of his paper on 'The Customs, Manners and Language of the Indians', published in the Philosophical Transactions, 1772. [Biography by W. L. Stone]

JOHNSTON, ANNA see MacMANUS, ANNA

JOHNSTON, FRANCIS c.1760-1829

Francis Johnston was born in Armagh, and from 1786 to 1793 he was involved as an architect in the restoration of Armagh Cathedral. He rebuilt the Irish House of Commons, and among others, designed St George's Church in Dublin, parts of the Bank of Ireland, the General Post Office in O'Connell Street and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle. He was founder of the Royal Hibernian Academy, and at his own expense erected its building. He died in Dublin.

JOHNSTON, JOSEPH 1890-1972

Joseph Johnston was born in Castlecaulfield, County Tyrone, and was educated in Dungannon, at Trinity College, Dublin, and Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated in Classics and Ancient History. In 1914 he was awarded the Albert Cahn Fellowship and he spent a year studying economics in India, America, Java, China and Japan. He returned to Trinity College, Dublin, where he became a lecturer in Ancient History but later moved to Economics. From 1928 to 1929 he was the Rockefeller Fellow for Economic Research in Europe and in 1939 became Professor of Applied Economics. He served as a Senator of the Irish Free State for twelve years and sat on many government commissions. He published his first book in 1914, entitled Civil War in Ulster, and was a prolific writer. In 1970 he gained the degree of Doctor of Literature from Trinity College, Dublin, when he published Berkeley's Querist in Historical Perspective. He took on the management of several farms as a practical means of experimenting with agricultural economics.

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM 1818-1894

William Johnston was born in Ballybay, County Monaghan, and was educated in Belfast and Edinburgh. In 1842 he was ordained a Presbyterian minister in Belfast, where he spent the rest of his life. He founded the Presbyterian Orphan Society and was a popular preacher and educationalist. [Biography by Prenter 1895]

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM 1829-1902

William Johnston was born in Ballykilbeg, County Down, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar, but never practised. He joined the Orange Order in 1848, and was a prominent member throughout his life. In 1853 he began the publication of tracts, novels, and a newspaper, The Downshire Protestant, which ran from 1855 to 1862. In 1867 he was imprisoned under the Party Processions Act for heading an Orange parade on the 12th of July, from Newtownards to Bangor. He was an independent Orange member of parliament for Belfast from 1868 to 1878, when he was appointed Inspector of Fisheries. Because of his verbal attacks on Home Rule supporters and the Land League, he was dismissed. He served as member of parliament for South Belfast from 1885 until his death. [William Johnston of Ballykilbeg, Aiken McClelland, 1992]

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM DENIS 1901-1984

William Johnston was born in Dublin and was educated at Dublin, Edinburgh and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied law and was President of the Union. He went to Harvard as a Pugsley Scholar, was called to the English Bar in 1925 and the Northern Ireland Bar in 1926. From 1931 to 1936 he was Director of the Gate Theatre. During the Second World War he was a correspondent for the BBC and was subsequently awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services. Having been a BBC drama producer, he became Director of Programmes in 1946 for two years. From 1952 until 1960 he was a member of the English Department at Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1955 he was given a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1961 was appointed head of the Theatre Department at Smith College, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Irish Academy of Letters and a playwright. Among his works are The Old Lady Says No; The Moon on the Yellow River; A Bride for the Unicorn; The Golden Cuckoo and The Scythe and the Sunset. He also wrote a biography, In Search of Swift, and two autobiographies, Nine Rivers from Jordan and The Brazen Head. In 1977 the Allied Irish Bank gave him their award for literature, and in 1979 the New University of Ulster bestowed on him an honorary doctorate.

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM JOHN 1869-1940

William Johnston was born in Belfast, and was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, and Queen's College, Belfast. In 1892 he was called to the Bar and eight years later was appointed editor of the New Irish Jurist. In 1906 he became editor of the Irish Law Times. He became a county court judge and then served as a High Court judge from 1924 to 1939. In the following year he was judge of the Supreme Court before becoming Commissioner of Charitable Donations and Bequests.

JOHNSTONE, W. E., RALPH and ROBERT late 19th century

The Johnstone brothers were born in Donegal and they were all international rugby players. They represented Dublin University and Wanderers and from 1884 to 1892 won six Irish rugby caps between them. Robert was a member of the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1896. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the Boer War. Ralph also played cricket for Ireland.

JONES, AGNES 1850-1886

Agnes Jones lived at Fahan House, County Londonderry. She was a close friend of Cecil Frances Alexander and took upon herself the task of visiting the sick of the parish. She trained as a nurse and later went to St Thomas's Hospital, London. Florence Nightingale put her in charge of a vast workhouse in Liverpool, but after three years she died of typhus. She is buried in the old churchyard at Fahan.

JONES, HENRY 1605-1682

Henry Jones was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and was then ordained. He was living in Ballanagh Castle, County Cavan, when the rebellion began in 1641, and he surrendered the castle to the Irish forces. He and his family eventually escaped to Dublin, and in 1645 he was appointed Bishop of Clogher. In 1646 he became Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin and gave to the college library the Book of Durrow. In 1642 Jones was asked to collect evidence of crimes committed during the rebellion, and ten years later, he was similarly employed in investigating robberies and murders alleged to have been committed in Munster and Leinster. He was translated from Clogher to Meath in 1661. At the time of the 'Popish plot' he gathered information which implicated the Archbishop of Armagh, Oliver Plunkett.

JONES, LES d. 1992

Les Jones was educated at Queen's University, Belfast. He was an athlete and represented Ulster in the 800 metres and in cross-country runs. On leaving university, he joined the Customs service. He was prominent as an administrator in Northern Ireland athletics. For a period he was Team Manager for men's and women's cross-country teams in New Zealand. He attended Seoul Olympics in 1988 as assistant coach to the British Men's Team. He became chairman of the Northern Ireland Amateur Athletic Association, and Team Manager for the British Olympic Team in Spain.

JONES, THEOPHILUS d.1685

Theophilus Jones was a soldier who fought with the English army when they attempted to crush the rebellion of 1641. Three years later he was appointed commander of the Lisburn garrison and in 1646 was taken prisoner and held for two years. From 1649 to 1659 he was governor of Dublin. He was elected to the British parliament in 1656, and given a troop of cavalry in the puritan army, with which he fought against the Irish for three years. He was dismissed in 1659, after which point he associated with Sir Charles Coote and Lord Broghill when they took over the government of the country from the Commonwealth commissioners. In 1661 he became privy councillor, and from that year until 1685, was scoutmaster-general in Ireland.

JONES, WILLIAM TODD 1755-1818

William Todd Jones was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied law. He was an active Volunteer and sat in the Dungannon Convention in 1782. He was elected member of parliament for Lisburn. He was arrested for high treason in 1803 and was imprisoned for two years. He was the author of poems and pamphlets, and he claimed that he was a descendant of Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Dromore. He died in Rostrevor, County Down.

JORDAN, JOHN NEWELL 1852-1925

John Jordan was born in Balloo, County Down, and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's College, Belfast, where he graduated as a Master of Arts. In 1876 he went as a student interpreter to China and by 1896 had been appointed Consul-General for Korea. He was knighted in 1904. From 1906 to 1920 he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Peking and in 1915 was appointed a Privy Councillor. For his work as a diplomat he had conferred upon him the honour of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He died in London.

JOY, FRANCIS 1697-1790

Francis Joy was born in Belfast and in 1737, founded the Belfast Newsletter which is now the oldest newspaper in Ireland. In 1745 he resigned the newspaper to his sons and started a mill at Randalstown, County Antrim. He was the first paper-maker in Ulster.

JOY, HENRY 1754-1835

Henry Joy was born in Belfast and worked for his grandfather's newspaper, the Belfast Newsletter from 1782, becoming its editor in 1789. In 1794 he jointly published Belfast Politics : A Collection of the Debates, Resolutions and Other Proceedings of that Town in the years 1792 and 1793. When the rebellion of 1798 broke out, Henry Joy served in the yeomanry. He was anonymous author of Historical Collections relative to the Town of Belfast in 1817, which retrospectively modified a number of the moderate editorial comments of Belfast Politics.