Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth

Viscount Molesworth
Member of Parliament
for County Dublin
with Edward Deane
In office
1695–1703
Preceded byJohn Allen
Chambre Brabazon
Succeeded byJohn Allen
Joseph Deane
Member of Parliament
for Swords
with James Peppard (1703–1713)
Plunket Plunket (1713–1715)
In office
1703–1715
Preceded byThomas Ashe
John Reading
Succeeded byRichard Molesworth
Plunket Plunket
Member of Parliament
for Camelford
with Ambrose Manaton (1695–1696)
Sidney Wortley Montagu (1696–1698)
In office
1695–1698
Preceded byAmbrose Manaton
Henry Manaton
Succeeded byHenry Manaton
Dennys Glynn
Member of Parliament
for Lostwithiel
with Russell Robartes
In office
1705–1706
Preceded bySir John Molesworth
Russell Robartes
Succeeded byRussell Robartes
James Kendall
Member of Parliament
for East Retford
with Sir Hardolph Wastneys
In office
1706–1707
Preceded bySir Willoughby Hickman
William Levinz
Succeeded byParliament of Great Britain
Member of Parliament
for East Retford
with Sir Hardolph Wastneys
In office
1707–1708
Preceded byParliament of England
Succeeded byWilliam Levinz
Thomas White
Member of Parliament
for Mitchell
with Nathaniel Blakiston
In office
1715–1722
Preceded bySir Henry Belasyse
John Statham
Succeeded byCharles Selwyn
John Hedges
Personal details
Born(1656-09-07)7 September 1656
Brackenstown, Swords, Ireland
Died22 May 1725(1725-05-22) (aged 68)
Dublin, Ireland
SpouseHon. Letitia Coote
ChildrenJohn Molesworth, 2nd Viscount Molesworth
Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth
Hon. Robert Molesworth (I)
Hon. William Molesworth
Hon. Edward Molesworth
Hon. Coote Molesworth (I)
Hon. Robert Molesworth (II)
Hon. Hamilton Walter Molesworth
Hon. Coote Molesworth (II)
Hon. Bysse Molesworth
Hon. Robert Molesworth (III)
Hon. Margaret Molesworth
Hon. Mary Molesworth
Hon. Letitia Molesworth (I)
Hon. Charlotte Molesworth
Hon. Letitia Molesworth (II)
Parent(s)Robert Molesworth
Judith Bysse
Alma materTrinity College Dublin (1675, B.A.)

Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire) (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) was an Anglo-Irish politician, peer and writer.

Molesworth came from an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Baron Coote, and Mary St. George. His father Robert (d. 1656) was a Cromwellian who made a fortune in Dublin, largely by provisioning Cromwell's army; Robert Molesworth the younger supported William of Orange and was made William's ambassador to Denmark. In 1695 he became a prominent member of the Privy Council of Ireland. The same year he stood for County Dublin in the Irish House of Commons, a seat he held until 1703. Subsequently, he represented Swords until 1715. In the following year, he was created Viscount Molesworth, of Swords, in the Peerage of Ireland.

Molesworth's An Account of Denmark, as it was in the Year 1692 (1694) was somewhat influential in the burgeoning field of political science in the period. He made a case for comparative political analysis, comparing the political situation of a country to the health of an individual; a disease, he reasoned, can only be diagnosed by comparing it to its instantiation in other people (Thompson, 495).