William Edward Hartpole Lecky

William Edward Hartpole Lecky (1838–1903) was an Irish historian and essayist, born near Dublin and educated at Trinity College. Independent means allowed him to write without a post. History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, published in 1865 when he was twenty-seven, made his name; History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne followed in 1869, and his History of England in the Eighteenth Century, in eight volumes, gave Ireland a large and sympathetic place. A liberal who broke with Gladstone over Home Rule, he sat in Parliament for Dublin University from 1895 to 1902.