Sir Robert Shirley (Sherley)
1 portrait by James Fittler
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir Robert Shirley (Sherley)
possibly by James Fittler, published by William Richardson
line engraving, published 1803
7 3/4 in. x 4 7/8 in. (197 mm x 124 mm) paper size
Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931
Reference Collection
NPG D26059
Sitterback to top
- Sir Robert Shirley (Sherley) (circa 1581-1628), Count Shirley in the papal nobility, diplomat. Sitter associated with 3 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- James Fittler (1758-1835), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 32 portraits.
- William Richardson (active 1777-1814), Bookseller, printseller and auctioneer. Artist or producer associated with 400 portraits.
Events of 1803back to top
Current affairs
The Vice Society is formally established by John Reeves and his associates to campaign against blasphemy and immorality, particularly that perpetrated by Thomas Paine and the Edinburgh Review.Art and science
Erasmus Darwin's Temple of Nature published posthumously. A scientific treaty in the form of an elaborate couplet poem, its content anticipated some of the evolutionary ideas developed by his grandson, Charles Darwin, fifty years later.Construction of the Caledonian Canal begins.
International
War with France resumes, sparking new fears of a cross-channel invasion.United Irishman, Robert Emmett's attempted uprising in Dublin. Planned to coincide with Napoleon's expected invasion, it aimed to overthrow the English administration but ended in failure. Emmett is hanged along with several other conspirators.
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