The Honourable

The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

 Thomas Francis Wenman FRS

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 (18 November 1745 – 8 April 1796) was a British professor, natural historian, and antiquarian

Antiquarian

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

.

Wenman was the second son of Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman

Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman

Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman , was a British landowner and politician.Wenman was the elder son of Richard Wenman, 5th Viscount Wenman, by Susanna, daughter of Seymour Wroughton, of Heskett. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1729, aged eleven. This was an Irish peerage and did not...

 and his wife Sophia, daughter and co-heiress of James Herbert of Tythorpe. He was born at Thame Park, near Thame

Thame

Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

 in 1745. He was educated at University College, Oxford

University College, Oxford

.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...

, matriculating on 22 October 1762. On 12 May 1764, he was admitted to the Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 as a student.

In 1765, while studying law, he was elected a fellow

Fellow

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

 of All Souls College, Oxford

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

, and in 1770, he was called to the bar

Call to the bar

The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...

. He received degrees in civil law

Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

 from Oxford as well, becoming a BCL

Bachelor of Civil Law

Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...

 in 1771 and a DCL

Doctor of Civil Law

Doctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....

 in 1780. Wenman unsuccessfully contested Wallingford

Wallingford (UK Parliament constituency)

Wallingford was a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It was a parliamentary borough created in 1295, centred on the market town Wallingford in Berkshire . It used to return two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons; this was cut to one in 1832, and...

 in 1774, but was returned for Westbury

Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...

, and sat in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 for the constituency until 1780.

Wenman was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 21 January 1779. Perhaps due to his antiquarian propensities, he was elected Keeper of the Archives

Keeper of the Archives

The position of Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford in England dates from 1634, when it was established by new statutes for the university brought in by William Laud...

 of Oxford University on 15 January 1781, and was made deputy steward of the University in December.

In 1789, he was appointed Regius Professor of Civil Law

Regius Professor of Civil Law (Oxford)

The Regius Chair of Civil Law, founded in the 1540s, is one of the oldest of the professorships at the University of Oxford.-Foundation:The Regius Chair of Civil Law at Oxford was founded by King Henry VIII, who established five such Regius Professorships in the University, the others being the...

 in succession to Robert Vansittart

Robert Vansittart (jurist)

Robert Vansittart was an English jurist, antiquarian and rake.-Life:Elder brother of Henry Vansittart, who was to go on to become Governor of Bengal, he grew up in Shottesbrooke in Berkshire and was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Oxford, becoming a fellow of All Souls College,...

, but his real interest lay in natural history and botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

. While collecting specimens, he fell into the River Cherwell

River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...

, near Water Eaton

Water Eaton, Oxfordshire

Water Eaton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Gosford and Water Eaton, between Oxford and Kidlington in Oxfordshire.-History:The toponym Eaton is Anglo-Saxon, and "Water Eaton" means "farm by a river", referring to the manor's site beside the River Cherwell. Water Eaton manor house was built for...

, and was drowned on 8 April 1796. He was buried in the chapel of All Souls on 15 April 1796.