240 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Book between the years 1644 and 1652, and his name does not appear in the 

 published roll of graduates of the University. Most probably, like many 

 others, he left Trinity College during the troublous times of the Civil War; 

 and we find him, described as " of Trinity College, Dublin," admitted to the 

 degree of B.A. at Oxford on December 18, 1649, and in the same year he was 

 elected a Fellow of Merton College. On November 18, 1652, he proceeded 

 to the degree of M.A., on which degree he was incorporated at Cambridge 

 in 1655. Soon after he went to Italy to study medicine, and he was admitted 

 to the degree of M.D. at Padua on March 29, 1663/4. Just a year later he 

 was incorporated at Oxford on his Padua degree.' 



Probably after his incorporation as M.D. at Oxford, Willoughby returned 

 to Dublin, and in 1667 he was nominated by Charles II as one of the Fellows 

 of the College of Physicians in the Eoyal Charter granted to that body. It 

 is possible he was at the time a member of the Fraternity of Physicians, 

 which in 1654 had been established in Trinity Hall, under the presidency of 

 John Stearne, but of this we cannot now be certain. His promotion in the 

 College was rapid. On September 24, 1676, he signed as President, so that 

 we may conclude that he had been elected to that ofBce on the previous feast 

 of St. Luke. He continued as President till October, 1677, when he became 

 Treasurer of the College — an office which he held till April 25, 1683. 



By that time "Willoughby had attained a place of note among men of 

 learning in Dublin. In October, 1683, at the formation of the Dublin 

 Philosophical Society, he was elected Arbiter Conventionis,ov "Director," and 

 he was one of the four members chosen to draw up the rules for that Society. 

 To its Proceedings he contributed two papers — " On a Mirage seen at Ehegium, 

 in Italy ; and on Winds," and " On Lines of Latitude and Longitude."^ 



In addition to taking a prominent part in the scientific work which was 

 being done in Dublin, Willoughby appears to have enjoyed the favour of the 

 Court. In 1682 we hear of him attending Patrick Sheridan, Bishop of 

 Cloyne,^ who died on November 22 of that year. On May 19, 1683, the Earl 

 of Arran, who was then Lord Deputy, had written to the Duke of Ormond 

 introducing Willoughby, and recommending him for the post of Physician at 

 the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, which was then being built. Sir Patrick 

 Dun was also a candidate for that post. To that letter Ormond replied : " The 

 pretensions of the Doctors Willoughby and Dun will be best determined by 

 employing the Surgeon-General of the Army, at least, till an army marches 



' Foster, "Alumni Oxonienses." 



^ Dub. Quart. Journ. Med. Science, vol. i, p. vii, 



^ Ormond MSS., N.S., vol. vi, p, 445. 



■• Ihid,, vol. vii, p. 32. 



