Sir William Wilde, 1st Baronet (ca. 1611 – 23 November 1679) was an English judge and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1660. Wilde was the eldest son of William Wilde, vintner of Bread Street, London. He was a student of

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in London. It was located between Fetter Lane, Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street and Chancery Lane in the City of London. The Inn was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was d ...

and of

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1630. In 1637 he was called to the bar. He was

Recorder of London The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

from 1659 to 1668. On 27 Mar 1660 he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the

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in the Convention Parliament. On 13 Sep 1660, Wilde was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

. He was appointed King's Serjeant on 10 November 1661. He was made one of the judges of the court of common pleas in 1668 and advanced to become a justice of the King's Bench on 21 January 1672. He was described as a "grave and venerable judge" and was deprived of his office a few months before his death because he disbelieved the evidence of Bedlow in the " Popish Plot". Wilde was succeeded by his son Sir Felix Wilde, 2nd Baronet.

References

*'' Dictionary of National Biography'', Wilde, Sir William (1611?–1679), judge, by E. I. Carlyle. Published 1900. 1610s births 1679 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Baronets in the Baronetage of England Justices of the Common Pleas Justices of the King's Bench Recorders of London Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London English MPs 1660 {{17thC-England-MP-stub