John Boyle, 5th Earl Of Cork

John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery, was born on 13 January 1707 and died on 16 November 1762. He was an Anglo-Irish writer and a member of the Boyle family. Boyle was the only son of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, and Lady Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter. His place of birth was Westminster.

Boyle attended Christ Church, Oxford. In 1743, he engaged in political correspondence with the French government through Francis Sempill, aiming to secure French support for an invasion intended to restore the Stuart monarchy.

As a writer, Boyle translated the letters of Pliny the Younger, published in 1751. That same year, he authored "Remarks on the Life and Writings of Jonathan Swift" and published "Memoirs of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth." His collection titled "Letters from Italy" was published posthumously in 1773.

Boyle was associated with prominent literary figures of his time, including Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson.

Regarding his family, Boyle was married twice. His first marriage was to Henrietta, daughter of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, and Elizabeth Hamilton. They had children, including Elizabeth, born in 1731, who married Sir Thomas Worsley, 6th Baronet; one of their children was Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet. Boyle’s eldest son, Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, predeceased him. After Boyle’s death, his title was inherited by his younger son Hamilton, who died in 1764, and subsequently, the title passed to another son, Edmund.

His second wife was Margaret Hamilton, daughter of John Hamilton of Caledon and Lucy Dopping. Margaret owned significant estates in Ulster. Boyle and Margaret had a daughter, Lucy, born in 1744, who married George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington.

References for Boyle’s biography are available in the Dictionary of National Biography volume published between 1885 and 1900.