William Henry Gates II (November 30, 1925September 14, 2020), better known as Bill Gates Sr., was an American attorney, philanthropist, and civic leader. He was the founder of the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates (a predecessor of

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburgh-ba ...

), and also served as president of both the Seattle King County and Washington State Bar associations. He was the father of

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, co-founder of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Early life

Gates was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

, in 1925, and was the son of Lillian Elizabeth Rice (1891–1966) and William Henry Gates Jr. (1891–1969), who was himself the son of William Henry Gates, a

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

store owner and gold prospector during the Dawson Gold Rush of 1898 (not to be confused with

Bill Gates (frontiersman) "Swiftwater" Bill Gates (1860–1935) was an American frontiersman and fortune hunter, and a fixture in stories of the Klondike Gold Rush. He made and lost several fortunes, and died while mining in Peru in 1935. In one famous Klondike story h ...

). He graduated from

Bremerton High School Bremerton High School is four-year public secondary school in the port city of Bremerton, Washington, west across Puget Sound from Seattle, in the Bremerton School District. Between 1993 and 2007, Bremerton High School contained grades 10–12 ...

in 1943. Gates served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for three years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He subsequently attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

under the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, earning a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1949 and a J.D. degree in 1950. While at UW, he was a member of the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

fraternity.

Career

Gates co-founded the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates in 1964, which later became a part of

Preston Gates & Ellis Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, also known as Preston Gates, was a law firm with offices in the United States, China and Taiwan. Its main office was in the IDX Tower in Seattle, Washington. In 2007 the firm ceased to exist, merging with Kirkpatrick ...

LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

(PGE). He practiced with the firm until 1998, when it was merged into the firm now known as

. During his career he served as president of both the Seattle/King County Bar Association and the

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to ...

. Gates served on the boards of numerous organizations in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, including the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, King County

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. In 1995, he founded the

Technology Alliance The Technology Alliance is a Washington state organization of leaders from high-tech businesses, research institutions, and the community dedicated to Washington's economic success. Programs Research The Alliance developed a set of research ...

, whose mission is to expand technology-based employment in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In 1998, Gates retired from Preston Gates & Ellis. He served for 15 years on the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

for the

, and until his death was a co-chair of the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, which his son

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and his daughter-in-law

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...

founded. He served as a director for the bulk retail corporation

Costco Wholesale Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

from 2003, and was a founding co-chair of the

Pacific Health Summit The goal of the Pacific Health Summit is to connect science, industry, and policy for a healthier world. Traditionally, the main work of the Summit has been an annual meeting, where top decision makers convene to discuss how to realize the dream of ...

. He served as an Honorary Chair for the

World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment t ...

. The project works to lead a global,

multidisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

effort to strengthen the

Rule of Law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

for the development of communities of opportunity and equity. Gates co-authored the book ''Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes'' with

Chuck Collins Chuck Collins (born October 19, 1959) is an author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is ...

. It is a defense of the policies promoted by the

estate tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

. He was also the author of the book ''Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime''.

Personal life

In 1951, Gates married Mary Maxwell Gates (née Maxwell) (1929–1994), whom he met at the University of Washington (UW), and they remained married until her death in 1994. They had three children: Kristianne,

, and Libby. His two daughters, Kristi Blake and Libby Armintrout, are both active members of the UW community. He was a lifelong supporter of the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

college football team. In 1996, Gates married his second wife

Mimi Gardner Gates Mary "Mimi" Gates (née Gardner; born July 30, 1943) is an American art historian who is the recent director of the Seattle Art Museum. In 1996, she married Bill Gates Sr., the father of Bill Gates. Career Gates holds a B.A. degree in art histo ...

(b. 1943), who was director of the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

. In 2018, it was revealed that Gates was suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He died on September 14, 2020, aged 94, at his beach home on

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state. In a

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

, his son said that his "wisdom, generosity, empathy, and humility had a huge influence on people around the world."

Awards and recognition

* Awarded the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

, to acknowledge his business and civic success at least 25 years after earning

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

rank * President of Seattle-King County Bar Association, 1969–1970 * President of

, 1986–1987 * Recipient of

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

Distinguished Alumnus, 1991 * Recipient of

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

's Herbert Harley Award, 1992 * Served on Board for Judicial Administration,

Washington State Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retire ...

, 1993–1995 * Served on Board of Regents, University of Washington, 1997–2012 * Inducted into

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

, 2003 * William H. Gates Hall at UW's School of Law was named for him in 2003 * Awarded

Washington Medal of Merit The Washington Medal of Merit is one of three statutory civilian decorations issued by the state of Washington, the others being the Washington Medal of Valor and the Washington Gift of Life Award (formerly the Washington Gift of Life Medal). Was ...

, 2009 * Recipient of Chi Psi Fraternity's

Albert S. Bard Award The City Club of New York is a New York City–based independent, not-for-profit organization. In 1950, ''The New York Times'' called the City Club of New York "a social club with a civic purpose"Bill Gerberding, who was UW president from 1979 to 1995, described Gates as "a good man with a big heart ndgenerous public spirit", while former Seattle mayor Norman Rice characterized Gates' core values as "social justice and economic opportunity".

References

External links

*
Showing Up for Life
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Bill Sr. 1925 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century philanthropists American law firm executives American philanthropists American nonprofit businesspeople American people of English descent American people of German descent Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation people Businesspeople from Seattle Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Washington (state) Gates family Lawyers from Seattle Military personnel from Washington (state) People from Bremerton, Washington People from Dearborn, Michigan Philanthropists from Washington (state) Regents of the University of Washington United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers University of Washington School of Law alumni