Richard Wilson (– 1815) was an Irish-born politician whose origins are obscure.
He was Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of Great Britain for Barnstaple from 1796 to 1802.[1]
He married Anne, daughter of Charles Townshend. They were divorced in 1798.[2] Lady Louisa Stuart wrote of his elopement with Anne Townshend that:
...this Mr Wilson - whose name, when known, made nobody the wiser - was an Irishman, born to an inheritance of three hundred a year, but greatly in debt, of no profession, accounted a black-leg, and chiefly remarkable for having fought two or three duels... His conversation was bragging and his manner familiar and aisy like those of the Paddy in a farce. All his friends had ten thousand a year; he talked of his horses and carriages, his estate and his interest; and when he addressed you as a lady, you could not help drawing back for fear he should give you a kiss.[3]
He died, laden with debts, sometime in 1815. He had 3 sons, one of whom died in the West Indies, and 2 daughters.