Thomas Leland was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 historian, translator and academic and the author of the early gothic novel "Longsword, Earl of Salisbury: An Historical Romance", published in 1762.

He was born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, where he became Professor of Oratory in 1763. He translated the Orations of Demosthenes

Demosthenes

Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...

 in three volumes and wrote a life of Philip of Macedon

Philip of Macedon

Philip was the name of several Macedonian monarchs:* Philip I of Macedon * Philip II of Macedon , ruled 359-336 BC, father of Alexander the Great* Philip III of Macedon , ruled 323-315 BC...

 in 1758. He wrote an influential "History of Ireland from the Invasion of Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

" in 1773. His portrait, by John Dean, is held by the National Portrait Gallery.

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