Rowan , Archibald Hamilton , 1751-1834 , United Irishman

Archibald Hamilton was born in London in 1751, of Irish parents and educated at Westminster School and Queens' College and later Jesus College, Cambridge. As a young man he took his mother's maiden name, Rowan, as an additional surname under the provisions of his maternal grandfather's will. In the 1770s and early 1780s Hamilton Rowan travelled widely in Europe and visited North America before settling in Ireland with his young family. He became involved in radical politics and was known for his support of the manufacturing classes and concern for the condition of the Dublin poor. His activities with the Dublin United Irishmen led to his spending some time in prison in the early 1794, but he escaped first to France and later to Delaware and then Hamburg. A pardon permitted him to return to England in 1803 and to Ireland in 1806. Hamilton Rowan lived more quietly during his last three decades but continued to support liberal principles and increased freedom for Roman Catholics. Rowan died in 1834.