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Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Peninsular War from 1809-1811. He then returned to Oxford, graduating in 1815. He practiced as a barrister and became a Doctor of Civil Law in 1832.

He was co-founder of the Zoological Society of London in 1826, and its first Secretary until 1833. In 1833 he founded what became the Royal Entomological Society of London. He was a fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Society. He was the author of 40 papers, mostly on ornithology. He described 110 species of birds. He provided the text for John Gould's 'A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains' (1830-1832). One bird that he described was Sabine's Snipe. Vigors lent a skin for later editions of Thomas Bewick's 'History of British Birds'.

Vigors succeeded to his father's estate in 1828. He was MP for the borough of Carlow from 1832 until 1835. He briefly represented the constituency of County Carlow in 1835. Vigors won a by-election in 1837 and retained the seat until his death.