Henry MacCormac (physician)


Henry MacCormac was a notable 19th-century medical doctor and candidate for a chair at Queen's University in Northern Ireland. He was also a man of letters who corresponded with well-known Victorian-era intellectuals such as John Stuart Mill.

Early life and background

Henry MacCormac was born in Carnan, County Armagh, Ireland, in 1800. His father, John MacCormac, was a wealthy linen merchant and his mother, Mary Ann Hall,, was the daughter of Colonel Joseph Hall, a prosperous distiller who lived at "Hall Place" in Lurgan. Henry MacCormac's paternal grandfather was Cornelius MacCormac, R.N., who was a high-ranking officer in the Royal Navy according to the MacCormac family records.

Education

Henry MacCormac qualified in Dublin, Paris and earned a Medical Doctorate at the University of Edinburgh in 1916, and also became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh.

Visit to Sierra Leone

In the early 1800s, Henry MacCormac travelled to Sierra Leone, where his brothers, Hon. John MacCormac, and Hamilton Edmond MacCormac, lived as timber merchants. John MacCormac was a prosperous businessman who served as a Member of the Colonial Council in Sierra Leone and later as a Police Magistrate of the Colony.

Career

MacCormac served as a well-known physician and was a candidate for a chair at Queen's University in Northern Ireland. After retiring from his medical practice, MacCormac engaged in literary and scholarly pursuits and corresponded with a number of important Victorian era intellectuals.

Family

Henry MacCormac married his distant cousin, Mary Newsam, the daughter of William Newsam, a wealthy linen merchant whose family went to Ireland in 1640. The MacCormac family had three sons and two daughters, including William MacCormac, who served as President of the Royal College of Physicians and was knighted by Queen Victoria. Through his youngest son, Henry MacCormac was also the great grandfather of Sir Richard MacCormac, a notable architect in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Later life

Henry MacCormac died at Fisherwick Place, Belfast, on 26 May 1886 at the age of 86.

Publications