Sir William Jones (1631 – 2 May 1682) was an English lawyer and politician.

Life

Jones was the son of Richard Jones, of Stowey,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, MP for Somerset in 1654, and his wife Joyce Woodward. He entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 6 May 1647. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, and acquired a practice in the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros, (30 January 1628 – 16 April 1687) was an English statesman and poet. Life Early life George was the son of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, favourite of James I ...

befriended him, and he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

and made a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1671. He was generally considered to be a lawyer of considerable learning. He was Solicitor-General from 11 November 1673 until 25 June 1675, when he was appointed

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. He directed the prosecution of the victims of Titus Oates's plot in 1678, but resigned from the attorney-generalship in November 1679, saying that he had found the burden of work intolerable. As a man noted for his timid disposition, he was probably not well suited to be a law officer in a time of acute political crisis. He was returned to the House of Commons as member for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

at a by-election on 3 November 1680. He was a manager for the Commons at

Lord Stafford Baron Stafford, referring to the town of Stafford, is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. In the 14th century, the barons of the first creation were made earls. Those of the fifth creation, in the 17th century ...

's trial (30 November), where he presented the prosecution case with skill, and was heavily involved in the passage of the

Exclusion Bill The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sco ...

through the Commons: his forceful speeches attracted much attention, and were notable contrast to his normal reputation for timidity. He was satirised by the court wits, and

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

introduced him as 'Bull-faced Jonas' into ''

Absalom and Achitophel ''Absalom and Achitophel'' is a celebrated satirical poem by John Dryden, written in heroic couplets and first published in 1681. The poem tells the Biblical tale of the rebellion of Absalom against King David; in this context it is an allego ...

'' (1681). He was re-elected for Plymouth to the abortive parliament summoned to Oxford in March 1681. The King's declaration of 8 April 1681, justifying his dissolution of parliament, was answered by Jones in ''Just and Modest Vindication of the Proceedings of the last two parliaments'' (London, 1681, anon.); this tract was reissued in 1689 as ''The Design of Enslaving England Discovered''. After its publication Jones appeared little in public life, owing, it was reported, to his dislike of

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

. He was on intimate terms with

Lord William Russell Lord William Russell (20 August 1767 – 5 May 1840) was a member of the British aristocratic Russell family and longtime Member of Parliament. He did little to attract public attention after the end of his political career until, in 1840, he was ...

. He died on 2 May 1682, "not much lamented", according to his numerous enemies, who included

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

. He had married Elizabeth, the daughter of Edmund Alleyn of

Hatfield Peverel Hatfield Peverel is a village and civil parish at the centre of Essex, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) north-east from Chelmsford, the nearest large city, which it is connected by road and rail. The parish includes the hamlets of ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and the widow of John Robinson of Denston Hall,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, with whom he had two sons (one of whom predeceased him) and two daughters. His daughter Elizabeth (died 1681) married as his first wife

Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham of Laughton Bt ( 1653 – 23 February 1712) was a moderate English Whig politician and Member of Parliament for several constituencies. He is best remembered as the father of two British prime ministers (Hen ...

. His estate at

Ramsbury Ramsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of Swindon ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

was left to his nephew Richard.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, William 1631 births 1682 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth Attorneys General for England and Wales Solicitors General for England and Wales People associated with the Popish Plot English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 17th-century English lawyers Knights Bachelor English King's Counsel 17th-century King's Counsel