William Richard O'Byrne (1823 – 7 July 1896) was an Irish biographer and politician, author of theA Naval Biographical Dictionary (1849).
He was elder son of Robert O'Byrne and his wife Martha Trougher, daughter of Joseph Clark. He was a young man when he conceived of publishing a record of the service of every livingRoyal Navy officer of the executive branch. The work proved an unrewarding struggle.Sir Francis Thornhill Baring appointed him librarian at theAdmiralty; but his successor,Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, did not confirm the position.[1]
Recognition for O'Byrne's work came from theRoyal United Service Institution, and in 1857 he was specially elected a member of theAthenæum Club. On the death of his cousin Georgiana O'Byrne, he succeeded to theCabinteely estate,County Wicklow. In 1872, he wasHigh Sheriff of Wicklow, and wasM.P. for the county from 1874 to 1880. But the property to which he had succeeded was heavily mortgaged; the mortgagees foreclosed, and O'Byrne was left with little. In 1884, he was awarded £100 from theroyal bounty. The Admiralty refused him a post. During his last years O'Byrne's health broke down, and he was mainly dependent on his daughter.[1]
In the summer of 1896 he was granted £125 from the royal bounty. He died inSouth Kensington on 7 July 1896. His wife, by whom he had one daughter, predeceased him.[1]
As a young man, O'Byrne conceived the idea of aBiographica Navalis (Naval Biographical Dictionary). It took six years for him to publish the first parts in 1845 and the full set of 1,400 pages was published by 1849. The Admiralty records were disorganised; O'Byrne corresponded with the subjects of his memoirs, supplementing their statements with the official records.[1] He did not achieve much financial success from his work, though theRoyal United Service Institute rewarded him with a piece of plate and a gift of £400. While he aimed for meticulous accuracy, the biographical entries were often not particularly objectively written, as he invited serving officers to submit their own autobiographical conclusions. The accounts of their lives thus often make them appear as paragons of naval virtues.[2]
In 1859, he began a second edition of the dictionary, containing memoirs of officers of the civil branches of the service. It was never finished and he reached no further than the letter G.[1]
Laughton, John Knox (1901)."O'Byrne, William Richard" .Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCounty Wicklow 1874 –1880 With:William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Succeeded by |
