Sir William Rowan Hamilton : the influence of the 1880s temperance struggles on his posthumous reputation

This presentation is a continuation of the 2019 IH0M5 presentation in Maynooth, in which it was shown that Hamilton's alcoholic reputation began in 1846 at an event at which he had seemed to be drunk, although he was not. Around 1850 not adhering to the expectations of the temperance movement worsened Hamilton's reputation in Dublin. Hamilton died in 1865, and in the 1880s his friend Robert Graves published a three-volumed biography. At the same time Robert's brother Charles Graves was actively involved in the temperance movement, and Robert at least supported his brother publicly. It is suggested that this combination did not leave room for Robert Graves to both openly defend Hamilton and remain to be regarded as reliable. Graves' skewed defense and its later misinterpretations became the seeds of Hamilton's contemporary unhappy and alcoholic reputation.