LELAND, Thomas, the translator of Demosthenes, was born at Dublin in 1722. Entering the university of that city as a pensioner of Trinity College in 1737 he was
elected a scholar in 1741, and a fellow in 1746. In 1763 he was nominated professor of poetry. In 1768 the Lord-Lieutenant appointed him his chaplain, a prebendary of St Patrick's Cathedral, and vicar of Bray. In this new capacity, his energetic and perspicuous eloquence soon rendered him the most admired preacher in Dublin. He died in 1785.
His works are:—Translation of Demosthenes, London, 1777; History of the Life and Reign of Philip of Macedon, London, 1805; A Dissertation on the Principles of Human Eloquence, London, 1764; Sermons, 3 vols., Dublin, 1788; and History of Ireland, London, 1773.