b. 22 August 1798. d. 5 February 1886. Nationality: Irish.
Poet, surgeon, and colonial administrator. Alternative signature: “R. R. Madden.”
Educated at a private school in Dublin. Acquainted with Lady Blessington, whom he
met in Italy while he worked for the *Morning Herald*. Authored several works supporting
the abolition of slavery, including *Address on Slavery in Cuba, Presented to the
General Anti-Slavery Convention* (1840). Appointed colonial secretary of Western Australia
in 1847. Member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Society of Medical Science. Married
Harriet Elmslie in 1828. Biographical information: *ODNB*. (SP)