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Sir William Bellingham, 1st Baronet (c. 1756 – 27 October 1826) was an Irish-born
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
politician and the Controller of Storekeepers Accounts for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. Bellingham was charged with organizing and procuring provisions for the
Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...
. Though he never saw the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
, Bellingham Bay and the city of
Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (l ...
, are named for him.


Early life

William Bellingham was the son of Col. Alan Bellingham (of
Castlebellingham Castlebellingham () is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has become quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway, which bypasses it. The population of Castlebellingham-Kilsaran (named for the two townlands whi ...
) and Alice Montgomery, daughter of Rev. Hans MontgomeryCokayne, George Edward (editor). ''The Complete Baronetage''. Vol. 5. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983. of Grey Abbey House, Co. Down. Bellingham was one of four siblings (O'Bryen, Thomas, and Alan).Mosley, Charles (editor). ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes''. Vol. 1. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books), Ltd, 2003. He attended
Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
, graduating in 1778 as a
Bachelor of Arts 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 1783 he married Hester Frances Cholmondeley (1763-1844), granddaughter of George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley.


Career

Bellingham moved to
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, and from 1784 through 1789 held the elected office of
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 of ...
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. ...
. In 1789 he was appointed commissioner for the victualling of the Royal Navy,. on the 21 January 1790 he was appointed Controller of Storekeepers Accounts a post he held til 1793 when he was succeeded by Sir Frederick Rogers. During this time he oversaw the provisioning of
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
's expedition along the West Coast of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...
. Bellingham Bay was named by Vancouver in his honor. Later the city of
Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (l ...
was also named for him. He was the Receiver of the Sixpenny Office, an Admiralty fund that collected sixpence from every serving sailor's wage for the Greenwich Hospital. He became the private secretary of the Right Honourable William Pitt, and was created a baronet, of Castle Bellingham on 19 April 1796. He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and was
Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Rece ...
of the Land and Assessed Taxe of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He died in 1826 and was buried in the family vault at St Mary's Church of Ireland, Kilsaran Parish, in Castle Bellingham.''Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellingham, William 1750s births 1826 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people People from County Down Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1784–1790 Politicians from County Louth Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies History of Bellingham, Washington People from Castlebellingham