Sir William McArthur, (6 July 1809 – 16 November 1887) was an Anglo-Irish businessman and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

, and a

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politician who sat in the

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from 1868 to 1885.

Biography

McArthur was born at Malin, County Donegal,Thomas W. H. Fitzgerald ''Ireland and Her People: A Library of Irish Biography''
/ref> the son of Rev. John McArthur, a Methodist minister in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> In 1821 he was apprenticed to a woollen draper in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

. He moved to

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

in 1825 where he was a merchant and in 1831 established a drapery business in Derry initially in a partnership, but later on his own. In 1841 his brother

Alexander McArthur Alexander McArthur (10 March 1814 – 1 August 1909) was an Irish-born Australian and British businessman. He was a politician in both countries. Early life and career Alexander McArthur was born on 10 March 1814 in Enniskillen, Ireland, to ...

went to Australia and the business was trading with several destinations in Australia. McArthur became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Derry. In 1857 McArthur moved the business to the

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where he also became chairman of the Star Assurance Company, and was a director of the City Bank, the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by Royal Charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

and the Australian Telegraph Co. He was a JP for Surrey and a Deputy Lieutenant for the City of London. McArthur was involved in the opening of

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

in 1865. At the 1865 general election McArthur stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

. From 1867 to 1868 he was Sheriff of London and Middlesex. At the 1868 general election McArthur was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

,Craig, British parliamentary election results 1832–1885, page 13 and held the seat until borough was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. He was elected an alderman of London for Coleman Street in 1872 and became

in 1880. He was one of the founders of the London Chamber of Commerce in 1881 and was made

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

in 1882. At the 1885 general election, McArthur stood as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Liberal candidate in the new Newington West, but finished a poor third with 821 votes (16%). He had several interests in social and reforming organisations, including the Orphan Working School of Haverstock Hill and Hornsey Rise, and the

Aborigines' Protection Society The Aborigines' Protection Society (APS) was an international human rights organisation founded in 1837,
...

. In 1883 he opened Centenary Hall, Cottington Street, Kennington, and is remembered on a commemorative stone. McArthur died at the age of 78 and was buried in

Norwood cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

. Sir William left sums for

to build its girls boarding hall. McArthur married Marianne McElwaine in 1843.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McArthur, William 1809 births 1887 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians 19th-century Irish politicians Politicians from County Donegal Deputy Lieutenants of the City of London Sheriffs of the City of London Councillors in Derry (city) Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Burials at West Norwood Cemetery