Sir William Alexander (1754–29 June 1842), was a barrister and a judge in the English Court of Chancery. Alexander was the eldest son of William Alexander (1729-1819), of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and his wife Christine aitchison. His paternal grandfather was William Alexander Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1752 to 1754 and MP for Edinburgh 1755 to 1761. He was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

on 3 May 1771, and subsequently was called to the English Bar 22 November 1782. After practising in the Court of Chancery with high reputation as an equity and real property lawyer for nearly twenty years, he was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1800. He became one of the Masters in Chancery in 1809, and Chief Baron of the Exchequer on 9 January 1824, on which occasion he was made a member of the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...

and knighted. In December 1830, he resigned to enable

Lord Lyndhurst John Singleton Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst, (21 May 1772 – 12 October 1863) was a British lawyer and politician. He was three times Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Background and education Lyndhurst was born in Boston, Massachusetts, t ...

to take his place as Lord Chief Baron, and retired to his estate at Airdrie, in the county of Lanark. He inherited the estate of Cloverhill in Dunbartonshire in 1837. He died in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

29 June 1842. He is buried in the small burial ground attaching

Roslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. Rosslyn Chapel was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Catholic collegiate churc ...

just south of Edinburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, William 1754 births 1842 deaths Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor 19th-century King's Counsel 19th-century British lawyers English King's Counsel Barons of the Exchequer