WADDELL, HELEN JANE 1889-1965

Helen Waddell was born in Tokyo, where she learned to speak both Japanese and Chinese. She was educated at Victoria College, Belfast, Queen's College, Belfast, and Somerville College, Oxford, where she was Susette Taylor Fellow. Her first book was Lyrics from the Chinese, but her best-known works are The Wandering Scholars, The Desert Fathers and Mediaeval Latin Lyrics and she translated from Latin Beasts and Saints. Her first play, The Spoilt Buddha, was performed at the Opera House, Belfast by the Ulster Literary Society and in 1935 The Abbe Prevost was staged. In 1949 she published Stories from Holy Writ. Her novel Peter Abelard, 1933, has been translated into many languages and has run to over thirty editions. She contributed many articles to the Standard, Manchester Guardian and The Nation and was engaged in lecturing and broadcasting. She was assistant editor of the magazine The Nineteenth Century. Among her friends in London, where she was Vice-President of the Irish Literary Society, were W. B. Yeats, Virginia Woolf, Rose Macaulay, Siegfried Sassoon, Max Beerbohm and George Russell. She received honorary degrees from Columbia, Belfast, Durham and St Andrew's and is the only woman to have won the A. C. Benson Medal of the Royal Society of Literature. She died in London and was buried in Magherally churchyard, County Down.

WADDELL, SAMUEL JOHN (pseud. MAYNE, RUTHERFORD) 1878-1967

Samuel Waddell was born in Japan, where his father was a Presbyterian minister and a lecturer at the Imperial University of Tokyo. He was the brother of Helen Waddell and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Queen's College, Belfast, and the Royal University of Ireland, where he graduated in engineering. In 1904 he helped to found the Ulster Literary Theatre and began to act and write. His first play The Turn of the Road was produced in 1906, The Drone was produced in the Abbey Theatre in 1908 and his other plays include Red Turf, Peter, and Bridgehead. He starred in the title role of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones and won much acclaim. He was Chief Inspector for the Irish Land Commission and died in Dalkey, County Dublin.

WALKER, DAVID 19th century

David Walker was born in Belfast and was surgeon and naturalist aboard the yacht Fox which went in search of Sir John Franklin who disappeared on the North-West Passage expedition. In 1859 he read a paper entitled 'Notes on the Arctic Regions' to the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society.

WALKER, GEORGE c.1646-1690

George Walker was born in England and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1674 he was appointed Rector of Donoughmore, County Tyrone, where he formed the Charlemont Regiment which he brought to Derry in 1688. In 1689 he was chosen Governor of Derry during the seige. He was received in England by William III and was promised the bishopric of Derry. He wrote a True Account of the Siege, 1689, and was killed at the Battle of the Boyne.

WALKER, SAMUEL 1832-1911

Samuel Walker was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, was called to the Bar, and became Queen's Counsel in 1872. He defended Parnell in 1881 and three years later was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for County Londonderry. He was knighted and served as Solicitor-General from 1883 to 1885 and Attorney-General in 1886. From 1892 to 1895 and from 1905 to 1911 he was Lord Chancellor. In 1906 he was created a baronet.

WALKER, SAMUEL 1912-1972

Sam Walker was born in Belfast and educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He played rugby for Instonians, and won fifteen caps for Ireland between 1934 and 1938. He toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions and played twenty matches on that tour. He was later a BBC commentator.

WALKER, WILLIAM 1871-1918

William Walker was self-educated and at an early age became a founder and leader of the Independent Labour Party in Belfast. He often addressed crowds at the Custom House steps in the 1890s. His particular blend of Labour/Unionism became known as Walkerism. He organised the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union, worked on behalf of unskilled unions and women textile workers, and gained prominence in the Trades Council. In 1898 he was elected Poor Law Guardian and became a city councillor in 1904, when he was also elected President of the Irish Trade Union Congress. In 1905 he stood for the North Belfast parliamentary bi-election, but was defeated following his endorsement of an anti-Catholic questionnaire, by which he lost Catholic votes. He stood in the general election of 1906, 1907 and 1910, but remained unsuccessful. He was in favour of the British Labour Party organising in Ireland, which brought him into conflict with Nationalists in the Labour movement, especially Larkin and Connolly. He became involved in a controversy with Connolly regarding socialism and nationalism, conducted through the letter page of the Glasgow newspaper, Forward. In 1912 he was appointed Inspector of the National Insurance Scheme for the north-east.

WALSH, EDWARD 1805-1850

Edward Walsh was born in Derry, educated at a hedge school and became a hedge schoolmaster. He was imprisoned for his part in the tithe war. He taught in a National School near Mallow, but was dismissed from his post because of his articles published in The Nation. He became a National School teacher in County Waterford and published poems and translations in the Dublin Penny Journal. He was sub-editor of the Dublin Monitor for a short time, and was once more dismissed as a schoolteacher at Spike Island, the convict island in Cork Harbour, reputedly because he said farewell to John Mitchel before his transportation. He was a poet who wrote Reliques of Irish Jacobite Poetry with Metrical Translations and Irish Popular Songs, translated with notes. He taught in Cork Union Workhouse, where he died.

WALSH, LOUIS JOSEPH 1880-1942

Louis Walsh was born in Maghera, County Londonderry. He was a solicitor in Ballycastle, County Antrim, and in County Londonderry and later a District Justice in County Donegal. In 1967 extracts from his unpublished autobiography appeared in the Irish Times. Among his other works are Yarns of a Country Attorney; The Next Time; Memoirs of Men, Places etc.; The Life of John Mitchel and a number of plays, including Twilight Reveries and The Pope at Killybuck, which was first performed in Ballycastle, County Antrim by the Dalriada Players in 1915.

WARD, EDWARD 1906-1993

Edward Ward spent his childhood and youth at the family seat of Castle Ward. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He left the army and became a journalist, a BBC broadcaster and a war correspondent. In 1952 he succeeded to the title of Viscount Bangor, though Castle Ward was transferred to the care of the National Trust.

WARD, FERGAL OGE see MAC AN BHAIRD, FEARGHAL OG

WARD, HUGH (MAC AN BHAIRD, AODH BUIDHE), 1580-1635

Hugh Ward was born in Lettermacaward, County Donegal, a member of the principal bardic family of Ulster. He was educated in Donegal, where he joined the Franciscans, and at Salamanca. In 1616 he was appointed the first Professor of Theology at Louvain. He was highly knowledgeable about Irish literature and was himself the author of poetry in the bardic tradition. He collaborated in the compilation of John Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibernae. He died in Louvain and is buried there.

WARD, JAMES 1851-1924

James Ward was born and educated in Belfast and studied at the Royal College of Art, London. He exhibited at the Royal Acdemy and was appointed Principal of the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin in 1907. Among his publications are Studies for Decorative Design and Fresco Painting: Its Art and Technique.

WARD, JOHN 1832-1912

John Ward was born in Belfast and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. In 1847 he entered the family firm of printers and publishers and studied at the Belfast School of Art and Design. From 1876 he travelled in Europe and Egypt, and devoted his time to collecting Greek coins and Egyptian scarabs. He wrote many works concerning Egypt including Pyramids and Progress; Sketches from Egypt and The Sacred Beetle. He painted many water-colours and exhibited under the name of Bonnington Smith. He was member of the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club, and changed its name to the Belfast Art Society. He contributed to 'Notes and Queries' and 'The Irish Book Lover'. He died in Kent.

WARD, MARY (nee KING) 1827-1869

Mary King was born in Ferbane, County Offaly, and was educated privately. She married Henry Ward of Castle Ward, near Strangford, County Down, who later became the 5th Viscount Bangor. She published many scientific papers and books on science under the name of the Hon. Mrs Ward, such as Sketches with the Microscope, reprinted eight times between 1858 and 1888 as The World of Wonders as Revealed by the Microscope. This book was revised and reissued as Microscope Teachings. Telescope Teachings, which appeared in 1859, was based on her observations using the world's largest telescope in the grounds of Birr Castle. She was a gifted artist, naturalist, astronomer and microscopist, and she illustrated her own work as well as that of other people, for example Sir David Brewster's Life of Newton. Two of her books were selected to be displayed at the International Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1862. She died tragically in an accident on a steam carriage.

WARD, OWEN ROE, see MAC AN BHAIRD, EOGHAN RUADH

WARREN, WILL 1906-1980

Will Warren was born in England and worked in a printing firm. During the First World War a bomb had demolished his bedroom while he was sleeping. In 1971 he decided to come to Ulster and joined a Fellowship of Reconciliation work camp in Derry. He moved into a house in the Bogside, and was particularly concerned regarding the children in the vicinty. He often approached the paramilitaries in order to urge against retaliation. He was a Quaker and hated violence. In 1977 he had to leave Derry since his health was deteriorating. In 1982 Will Warren House was opened as a base for community groups and as a memorial to his courage and commitment.

WARRINGTON, ROBERT fl. 1831-1839

Robert Warrington's birth and death dates are not known, but it is known that he lived and practised in Belfast for many years. He exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, and in 1836, was a member of the Association of Artists when it was established. He painted 'Launch of the Aurora, the first passenger steamer built in Belfast, 1839'. He also painted a protrait of William Tennent of Belfast.

WARWICK, ARCHIBALD d.1798

Archibald Warwick was licensed as a Presbyterian minister but while awaiting a parish taught in Kircubbin, County Down. He was arrested as a United Irishman. In 1798 he was courtmartialed and hanged in Kircubbin beside the Presbyterian Meeting House. He was buried in Movilla, Newtownards, County Down.

WATERS, GEORGE 1863-1947

George Waters was born in Holywood, County Down. He studied at the Government School of Design in Belfast and spent much of his life as a lithographic artist. He was a founder member of the Belfast Art Society. He painted many of his watercolours in County Donegal and County Antrim. He was one of a group known as the Ulster Society of Painters, and he was a member of the Ulster Arts Club. His work is represented at the Ulster Museum.

WATTS, ROBERT 1820-1895

Robert Watts was born near Castlewellan, County Down, and graduated at Lexington after having studied at Princeton in the United States of America. In 1863 he returned to Ireland and was appointed Professor of Theology in Belfast. He replied to Tyndall's Address and this brought him to public notice.

WAVENEY, LORD see ADAIR, ROBERT ALEXANDER SHAFTO

WEBB, THOMAS EBENEZER 1821-1903

Thomas Webb was born in England and in 1845 won a classical scholarship at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1857 he became Doctor of Laws and was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy. In 1861 he was called to the Bar, and from 1879 to 1887 was Regius Professor of Law at Trinity College, Dublin. He was then appointed county court judge for Donegal. In 1868 he unsuccessfully stood as a Liberal parliamentary candidate for Trinity College, Dublin. In 1880 he published a pamphlet on the land question.

WEIR, IKE O'NEILL (THE BELFAST SPIDER) 1867-1908

Ike Weir was born in Lurgan, County Armagh and emigrated to the United States in 1886. Up until 1881 he had lost only one of his twenty eight professional fights as a featherweight boxer. He claimed the World Featherweight Title, the fight having been stopped in the eightieth round, and the claim is not universally accepted. He was knocked out in 1890 and lost the title to Billy Murphy of New Zealand. For the next four years he remained unbeaten, until in 1894 he lost to the ex-world champion, Young Griffo, and retired. His professional record includes twenty-nine wins, eight draws, three losses and one no-decision, in forty-one contests.

WELCH, ROBERT JOHN 1859-1936

Robert Welch was born in Strabane, County Tyrone and lived for a time in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. In 1875 he went to Belfast to train as a professional photographer under E. T. Church. He established his own business in 1883 and for the next fifty-three years practised his craft. He was appointed official photographer to the firm of Harland & Wolff, and the Belfast Ropeworks Co. but much of his time was spent taking pictures which reflected the life of the people and the contemporary landscape. The Ulster Museum, Belfast, houses the majority of these. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, President of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, and President of the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1923 he had an honorary doctorate conferred upon him by Queen's University, Belfast.

WENTWORTH, D'ARCY 1762-1827

D'Arcy Wentworth was born in Portadown, County Armagh and in 1782 held a commission in the Volunteers. He went to New South Wales in 1790 and was appointed Principal Surgeon and later Superintendent of Police in Sydney. He also held the appointment of Colonial Treasurer. The building of the general hospital was financed by the proceeds of a 'spirit monopoly' which he initiated.

WEST, ROBERT d.1770

Robert West was born in Waterford and became a builder and stucco worker. He ran an academy for teaching drawing in George's Lane Dublin in 1747. It was taken over by the Royal Dublin Society, which then employed him. The rococo plasterwork at Florence Court, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, is his, and it is thought that he built Newman House, St Stephen's Green. A house built by him in 20 Lower Dominic Street, Dublin, has a magnificent staircase.

WHELAN, CLAUDE BLAKE 20th century

Claude Whelan was a lawyer who became one of the foremost amateur archaeologists in Ulster. In 1930 he discovered Later Mesolithic material in the peat bogs of Toome Bay, County Londonderry.

WHITE, GEORGE STUART 1835-1912

George White was born at Whitehall, County Antrim, and was educated at Sandhurst. He served in the Indian Mutiny and took part in the Afghan War of 1870 to 1880. In 1879 he was awarded the Victoria Cross and became secretary to the viceroy of India. He took part in the Nile expedition and commanded a brigade in Burma. From 1893 to 1898 he was commander-in-chief of the Indian army. In the Boer War, from 1899 to 1900 he defended Ladysmith for one hundred and eighteen days. From 1900 to 1904 he served as Governor of Gibraltar and from 1904 to 1912 he was Governor of the Chelsea Hospital. He received the Order of Merit in 1905 and became a field-marshal.

WHITE, IDA late 19th century

Ida White lived in Ballymena, County Antrim. She produced two volumes of poetry, one in 1874 and the other in 1890, though much of the material was written before 1870. She was a Republican, a free-thinker, and later, an exile in Paris. She was imprisoned in Holloway and made a public attack on the Tzar of Russia.

WHITESIDE, JAMES 1804-1876

James Whiteside was born in Delgany, County Wicklow, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and the Inner Temple. In 1830 he was called to the Bar and in 1842 rose to Queen's Counsel. He defended Daniel O'Connell and later Smith O'Brien, and in 1851 was elected Conservative member of parliament for Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, and for Dublin University in 1859. In the same year he became a judge. He served as Solicitor-General from 1852 to 1853 and Attorney-General from 1858 to 1859, and in 1866 became Lord Chief Justice. Among his publications are Early Sketches of Eminent Persons and Italy in the Nineteenth Century. He died in Brighton.

WHITLA, WILLIAM 1851-1933/4

William Whitla was born in Monaghan and was educated at the Model School, Monaghan, and Queen's College, Belfast, where he studied medicine, having already completed an apprenticeship in pharmacy. He joined the staff of the Royal Hospital, the Belfast Ophthalmic Hospital and the Belfast Hospital for Women and Children before setting up a private practice. In 1890 he was appointed Professor of Materia Medica at Queen's College, Belfast. He received honorary degrees from many universities and was knighted in 1902. His medical works, in particular his Dictionary of Medical Treatment (first edition 1891)were widely sought and translated into many languages, including Chinese. Elements of Pharmacy, Materia Medica and Theraputics, published in 1882, went into twelve editions. He was also author of the two-volume Manual of Practice and Theory of Medicine. In 1909 he was elected President of the British Medical Association, and from 1917 to 1918 served as a member of the Irish Convention. He was Pro-Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast, represented the university in parliament from 1918 to 1922 and was appointed physician to the king. He left endowments to Methodist College, Belfast, Queen's University, Belfast, and the Ulster Medical Society.

WILDE, OSCAR FINGAL O'FLAHERTIE WILLS 1854-1900

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin and was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford. A year after his first volume, Poems, was published in 1881 he completed a lecture tour in America and Canada. From 1882 until 1888 he worked in London as a book-reviewer. During the period 1887 to 1889 he edited Woman's World and published his collection of fairy stories, The Happy Prince and other tales. In 1891 he published The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel, and another collection of fairy stories, A House of Pomegranates. Among his plays are Vera; The Duchess of Padua; Lady Windermere's Fan; A Woman of No Importance; An Ideal Husband; The Importance of Being Earnest and Salome. In 1895 Oscar Wilde was charged with homosexual offences and was imprisoned in Reading jail for two years. On his release he left England to live in Italy and France. In 1898 he published The Ballad of Reading Jail, and in 1905 De Profundis. He died at the Hotel Alsace and is buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris.

WILES, FRANCIS 1889-1956

Frank Wiles was born in Larne, County Antrim and educated at Larne Grammar School. He studied sculpture at Belfast School of Art, in Paris, and at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin. In the national competition of Schools of Art, he won a gold medal in 1914. He lived in Dublin until 1921, and exhibited with the Belfast Art Society and the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. The Newcastle, County Down, War Memorial was sculpted by him and a bronze plaque to John Moore Killen in the Royal Hospital, Larne, is his work. He died in Larne.

WILKINS, MAURICE b.1885

Maurice Wilkins was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was headmaster of Bangor Grammar School, County Down, from 1923 to 1947. He published Sonnets of Love and Friendship and The Seeker.

WILKINSON, HIRAM 1844-1926

Hiram Wilkinson was born in Moneyshanere, Tobermore, County Londonderry. He was a civil servant in the Far East, became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for China and Korea, and was knighted.

WILKS, MAURICE 1910-?

Maurice Wilks was born in Belfast and was educated at Malone Public Elementary School. He attended night classes at the Belfast School of Art and won a scholarship to the day school. He had several one-man shows, and exhibited regularly in Belfast and Dublin. He also exhibited in Canada, Toronto and Montreal, and the United States of America. His work is represented at the Ulster Museum and the Armagh County Museum, as well as other locations.

WILLIAM III (WILLIAM OF ORANGE) 1650-1702

William was the son of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, daughter of Charles I; and he married Mary, daughter of James II who eventually succeeded to the English throne. Protestants invited William to England to defend their religion when James, a Catholic, had a son thereby ensuring Catholic succession. William arrived in England with an army in 1688, and when James fled, William was declared king. He was supported by the Protestant inhabitants of Ireland. He sent reinforcements to Derry and Enniskillen and a large army under Schomberg, and he himself landed at Carrickfergus in 1690. James was already in the country and their respective armies eventually faced each other across the River Boyne, where James was defeated. William marched south, and after setting up headquarters in Finglas, captured Waterford and tried to take Limerick. He then returned to England, leaving his army to fight on his behalf. It achieved a number of successes, most notably at Aughrim on the 12th July, 1691. Limerick was finally taken, and a settlement was arranged by treaty. When parliament met in Dublin in 1692, William was recognised as the lawful sovereign of Ireland.

WILLIAMS, ALEXANDER d.1930

Alexander Williams was born in County Monaghan and was educated at Drogheda Grammar School. He became a painter in oils and water-colours, having studied drawing at the Art School of the Royal Hibernian Academy. In 1883 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy and a member eight years later. Many of his paintings were Irish landscapes, and he exhibited in Australia, Canada and England. He was also a soloist in many Dublin choirs.

WILLIAMS, CHARLES 1838-1904

Charles Williams was born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, and was educated at Belfast Academy and in Greenwich. He spent some time in America, and on his return to London became a journalist on the Evening Standard. During the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 he was a war correspondent. He reported on Armenia in 1877, and on the Afghan War of 1879-1880. In 1884 he accompanied the Nile expedition for the relief of General Gordon. From 1881 to 1884 he was editor of the Evening News and later worked in Egypt as a correspondent for the Daily Chronicle. He reported the Bulgar-Serbian war of 1885, the Greco-Turkish war of 1887, and in 1898 Kitchener's Sudanese campaign. He was founder of the Press Club in London and became its president. He published one novel, John Thaddeus Mackay.

WILLIAMS, JOHN 1761-1818

John Williams was born in London and came to Ireland in about 1780. In 1783 he painted a large picture of the Adelphi Club in Belfast. He edited the Volunteers' Journal in Dublin and returned to England after trouble when he attacked the government in an article. He published An Authentic History of the Professors of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, who have practised in Ireland (1796). He died of typhus fever in Brooklyn, New York.

WILSON, DANIEL MARTIN 1862-1932

Daniel Wilson was born in Limerick and was educated at the Royal Belfast Acdemical Institution and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar and sat on the bench of the King's Inns. He was Unionist member of parliament for West Down from 1918 to 1921, and from 1919 to 1921 was Solicitor-General. He was then appointed a judge of the newly established Supreme Court of Northern Ireland.

WILSON, DAVID 1873-1935

David Wilson was born at Minterburn, County Tyrone, and when he was ten, the family moved to Belfast. He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and went to work in the Northern Bank in Belfast, attending evening classes in drawing at the Government School of Design. He went to London, and eventually became recognised as one of the leading artists on Fleet Street. He worked as cartoonist on the Daily Chronicle, but he also painted landscapes and flowers. His caricatures were exhibited at the Burlington Gallery, London, in 1921. He was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour. The Ulster Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum hold examples of his work.

WILSON, FLORENCE MARY e.1870-1946

Florence Mary Wilson was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, but lived for most of her life in Bangor, County Down. She published a collection of poems The Coming of the Earls that was popular in America. Her work was influenced by Irish archaeology and legend and she is best known for her ballad `The Man from God Knows Where' (1918) which was written about Thomas Russell who was hanged in 1803.

WILSON, GUY LIVINGSTONE 1886-1962

Guy Wilson went to work in the woollen mill at Broughshane, near Ballymena, County Antrim, after he left school, though even at that early age his major interest was the growing of daffodils. His first crop of seedlings were flowering in 1912, and his last in 1967. He is known in horticultural circles as being associated with white daffodils, but he also created reverse bicolours and small cupped rimmed varieties. In 1913 his first success, the daffodil 'White Dame', received a first-class certificate. Following this, seventy-eight cultivars were registered. He produced an important pink daffodil, 'Irish Rose', which received awards of merit. He achieved international renown as the man who improved garden daffodils, and was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in Horticulture, the highest honour given by the Royal Horticultural Society. In 1956 he was guest of honour of the first convention of the American Daffodil Society. A daffodil garden has been planted in his memory at the University of Ulster, Coleraine.

WILSON, HENRY 1864-1922

Henry Wilson was born in Currygrane, Edgeworthstown, County Longford, and joined the British army in 1884. Early in 1914, during the 'Curragh mutiny', he was promoted to the rank of major-general. He was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1918 and was firmly in support of conscription. In 1920 he advocated martial law throughout southern Ireland. In 1922 he was elected Unionist member of parliament for North Down and retired from the army. His speeches regarding Ireland were provocative, and in his capacity as military adviser to the government of Northern Ireland he advised a strengthening of the armed forces. In 1922 he was shot dead in London and two members of the Irish Republican Army were hanged for his murder.

WILSON, HENRY MOIR 1910-1992

Henry Wilson was born in Belfast and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's University, Belfast, where he studied electrical engineering. He began an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer with Combe Barbour in Belfast and later with Metropolitan - Vicars in Manchester. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1935, and in 1939 was commissioned. He was senior tutor of the Royal Air Force advanced armament force during the Second World War and later became education officer at the Empire Air Armament School. In 1947 he was superintendent of the Servo Division at the Ministry of Supplies Guided Projectile Establishment and later moved to the Guided Weapons Department at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, where he became Head of Armament in 1959. He was appointed Director-General of Aircraft Equipment, Research and Development at the Ministry of Aviation in 1956. He went to Washington in 1962 to lead the Defence Research and Development staff at the British Embassy as an expert on guided missiles. In 1965 he became the army's Deputy Chief Scientist and in 1967 was promoted to Chief Scientist. He was appointed Director of the Technical Centre at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. In 1946 he was created Member of the British Empire, in 1965 Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, and four years later Companion of the Order of the Bath. In 1961 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He was involved with Fireflash, an air-to-air guided missile; the Royal Navy's Sea Slug; Bloodhound, a surface-to-air missile and the missile Thunderbird.

WILSON, JAMES B. 1862-1936

James Wilson was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's College, Belfast. He served in the army in Africa and India in the First World War and became a major-general. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.

WILSON, JOHN 1635-1695

John Wilson was probably born in County Londonderry. He became Recorder of Londonderry in 1680. He was a playwright, and his comedy The Cheats 1671, went into numerous editions.

WILSON (or WILLSON), JOSEPH fl. 1770-1793

Joseph Wilson lived near Kircubbin, County Down, but also worked as a portrait painter in Dublin. He painted a portrait of David Manson, the famous Belfast schoolmaster, and a portrait of John Magee. The Ulster Museum and the Armagh County Museum hold some of his portraits.

WILSON, ROBERT ARTHUR (pseud. MAGLONE, BARNEY) 1820-1875

Robert Wilson was born in Falcarragh, County Donegal, but as a young man spent some years in America. After returning to Ulster, he wrote for The Nation and Enniskillen newspapers. He made a reputation as a humorous writer under his pseudonym in the Morning News, and he published a volume of verse in 1894.

WILSON, SAMUEL 1832-1895

Samuel Wilson was born in Ballycloughan, County Antrim and emigrated to Australia where he became a sheep farmer. He made a great fortune and endowed Melbourne University. When he returned to Ireland, he unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat for County Londonderry in 1881, but later served as Member of Parliament for Portsmouth from 1886 to 1892.

WILSON, WALTER HENRY 1839-1904

Walter Wilson was born in Belfast and was educated at Gracehill School, near Ballymena, and Chester College. He was apprenticed in 1857 to a shipbuilding company where he became a draughtsman. In 1874 he became a partner in the firm of Messrs Harland & Wolff, where he was responsible for many inventions in ship design such as the single-plate rudder and the prevention of electro-chemical corrosion of propellor blades by a method still in use today. He promoted technical education, was a member of the Midland Railways Northern Counties Committee and President of the Chamber of Commerce. He died suddenly on a train travelling between Portstewart and Portrush.

WILSON, WILLIAM EDWARD 1851-1908

William Wilson was born in Belfast and was educated privately. In 1871 he established a private observatory at Daramona, Streete, County Westmeath, and in 1881, built a second one. He also built a laboratory and a mechanical workshop. In 1894 he became High Sheriff of Westmeath; in 1896 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1901 gained a Doctorate of Science. He pioneered research in the temperature of the sun and radiation from sun-spots the results of which he published privately in 1900. He died in Daramona.

WITHEROW, THOMAS 1824-1890

Thomas Witherow was born in Limavady, County Londonderry, and was educated in Belfast and Glasgow. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in Maghera, County Londonderry, when he was twenty-one years old, and in 1865 was appointed Professor of Church History in Londonderry. He wrote many theological works and published in journals. Among his publications are Derry and Enniskillen; The Boyne and Aghrim and Historical and Literary Memorials of Presbyterianism in two volumes, 1879-1880. He gained a Doctorate in Divinity and a Doctorate of Laws.

WOLFE, ARTHUR 1739-1803

Arthur Wolfe was born in County Kildare and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1766 he was called to the Bar, and in 1783 he was elected member of parliament for Coleraine, and in 1798 for Dublin, in which year he was appointed Chief Justice. He was created Baron Kilwarden and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin. He supported the Union and was killed in Emmet's insurrection.

WOLFE, CHARLES 1791-1823

Charles Wolfe was born in Blackhall, County Kildare, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in 1817 and held the curacy of Ballyclog, County Tyrone, and later Donoughmore, County Down. He was a poet and on the 19th of April, 1817, published his lyric 'The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna' in the Newry Telegraph. He died in Queenstown. [Memoir by J. A. Russell]

WOLFF, GUSTAV WILHELM 1834-1913

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was born in Hamburg, but served his apprenticeship as an engineer in Liverpool. He then came to Belfast as a draughtsman with Messrs. Hickson & Co., the owners of the Queen's Island shipyard. When the firm was taken over by Edward Harland, Wolff was appointed manager. In 1861 he was made a partner. He was also chairman of Belfast Ropeworks Ltd. and represented East Belfast at Westminster for eighteen years. He died in London.

WOOD, CHARLES 1866-1926

Charles Wood was born in Armagh and was educated at Armagh Cathedral School. He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London in 1883 and studied under Stanford. In 1890 he graduated in music at Cambridge University. He became organist at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and taught at the Royal College of Music. He succeeded Stanford as Professor of Music at Cambridge in 1924. He composed songs, string quartets and organ preludes, and the latter are still performed regularly. He died in Cambridge.

WOODS, STANLEY 1904-1993

Stanley Woods was born in Dublin, but moved to Downpatrick, County Down. Between 1923 and 1939 he won ten TT victories in the Isle of Man motorcycle races. He also won the Ulster Grand Prix seven times on the Clady course. He donated most of his trophies to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra.

WORKMAN, THOMAS 1843-1900

Thomas Workman was born in Belfast and went into the family linen business. He was interested in natural history and collected and studied spiders, and his name was given to at least two new tropical spiders: Damchus workmanii thor and Theridium workmanii thor. He served as Vice-President and President of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club and was Librarian of the Belfast Museum. His business travels took him to many countries including Egypt, India, the Far East and South America; he studied the natural history of the areas and published and illustrated the accounts of his journeys in various journals. He had a valuable collection of spiders which he bequeathed to the National Museum in Dublin. He was a magistrate for County Down and a founder and vice-chairman of a firm of shipbuilders, Workman Clark (1880). In 1896 he published the first volume of Malaysian Spiders, illustrated with plates drawn by himself. The second volume was completed but unpublished at the time of his death, which occurred during a trip to the Rocky Mountains.

WRIGHT, FRANK AMYAS 1948-1993

Frank Wright was born in Oxford and was educated at Trinity College, Oxford. In 1969 he won the Gibbs Prize for politics, and in 1973 he became lecturer in Comparative Politics at Queen's University Belfast, first having begun research in the Institute of Irish Studies. He wrote Northern Ireland in Comparative Perspective and Developments in Ulster Politics, 1843-1886. He was active in working for peace in Yugoslavia, though his special area of research continued to be Northern Ireland. In 1992 he was given the Chair of Peace Studies in the University of Limerick. He was deeply involved with the Corrymeela Community, an interdenominational Christian group working for reconciliation, based in Ballycastle, County Antrim, and with the Understanding Conflict Project. He was an artist.

WRIGHT, JOSEPH 1834-1923

Joseph Wright was born in Cork and was educated at the Friends' School, Newtown, County Waterford, and was apprenticed to a grocer in Clonmel. During 1859-1860 he assisted the Professor of Geology in Trinity College, Dublin. He had made a collection of carboniferous fossils which he presented to the British Museum. In 1866 he was elected a member of the Geological Society of London, and two years later he came to live in Belfast, where he concentrated his geological studies on foraminifera, becoming an acknowledged authority on this subject. He was a member of the Cork Cuvierian Society, the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, the Palaeontographical Society, and an honorary member of various other societies. His unique collection of 'forams' and a collection of his scientific papers are in the National Museum of Dublin.

WRIGHT, WILLIAM 1837-1899

William Wright was born in Finnard, County Down, and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's College, Belfast. From 1865 to 1875 he travelled to Damascus as a missionary and became proficient in Eastern languages. He wrote about his travels and on theological subjects, and was editorial superintendent for the Bible Society. His The Brontes in Ireland, written with first-hand knowledge, caused considerable controversy. He died in London.

WYATT, JAMES 1746-1813

James Wyatt was an architect who, when he came to Ireland, designed Castlecoole, County Fermanagh. He also modified Westport House, County Mayo, and extended Slane Castle, County Meath. His drawings for the work on Slane Castle are in the Murray Collection in the National Gallery.

WYLIE, JAMES OWENS 1875-1955

James Wylie was born in Rushvale, County Antrim and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Belfast and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar and eventually became Judge of the Supreme Court and Judicial Commissioner of the Land Commission. During the First World War he served in the British army and was Prosecutor at the trial of some of the participants in the 1916 rising. He competed at Equestrian events at the Dublin Horse Show and was Chairman of the Racing Board in 1945. He was Vice-Chairman of the Irish Red Cross Society during the Second World War.

WYLIE, WILLIAM EVELYN 1881-1964

William Wylie was born in Dublin and educated in Coleraine, County Londonderry. He became the youngest judge in the United Kingdom and was Crown prosecutor at the trials of the 1916 rebels. He was Law Adviser to Dublin Castle. [Biography by Leon O Broin]

WYSE, ANDREW NICHOLAS BONAPARTE 1870-1940

Andrew Wyse was born in Limerick and descended from Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I. He was educated in Downside in England, and at the University of London.In 1895 he became inspector of national schools, first in County Cork, and then in the Ballymena area. In 1915 he was made secretary to the commission of national education. After partition, he opted for service in the North and in 1927 was appointed permanent secretary in the Department of Education. Due to ill health, he retired to Dublin in 1939.