Richard Whately

Best known as Archbishop of Dublin, he was also a wide-ranging writer whose work touched logic, rhetoric, theology, economics, and education. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, became a fellow there, and later published Elements of Logic and Elements of Rhetoric, books that helped renew interest in those subjects for English-language readers.

He was appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 1831 and became known as an energetic reformer in the Church of Ireland. Alongside his church work, he supported educational efforts in Ireland and took an active interest in social questions, bringing a practical, argumentative cast of mind to public debate.

Contemporaries often described him as independent and combative, and that sharpness shows in his writing. He is also remembered for an early satirical book, Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon Bonaparte, which used wit to challenge sloppy reasoning and showed the skeptical style that ran through much of his work.