Sir William Palliser
CB MP (18 June 1830 – 4 February 1882) was an Irish-born politician and inventor,
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 ...
for
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
from 1880 until his death.
Early life
Born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on 18 June 1830, Palliser was the fourth of the eight sons of Lieutenant Colonel
Wray Bury Palliser (1788–1862), of
Derryluskan,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
, by his marriage to Anne Gledstanes, a daughter of John Gledstanes of
Annesgift, County Tipperary. After
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
, he was educated first at
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 ...
, to which he was admitted in 1849, and next at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
, where he
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
in 1851.
He later attended the
Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...
at
Sandhurst.
['THE NEW MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT – PALLISER, Sir W. (Taunton)' in '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' dated 2 April 1880, p. 9, col. B
He was a brother of Captain
John Palliser
John Palliser (29 January 1817 – 18 August 1887) was an Irish-born geographer and explorer. Following his service in the Waterford Militia and hunting excursions to the North American prairies, he led the British North American Explorin ...
, a geographer and explorer.
Career
Palliser was admitted a member of the
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 Wal ...
in Jan 1854.
[ In 1854, he was granted a ]patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for the invention of "improvements in projectiles for fire-arms and ordnance generally". He was then described as "William Palliser, of Comeragh in the county of Waterford, Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
".
In April 1855 Palliser was commissioned as an ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
into the Rifle Brigade
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...
. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 August 1855 and in 1857 was appointed an Instructor of Musketry. He saw active service
Active may refer to:
Music
* ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea
* Active Records, a record label
Ships
* ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name
* HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
in the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
after the fall of Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
.[ He was transferred with the rank of Lieutenant to the 18th Light Dragoons in 1858, promoted ]captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1859 and major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in 1864, before retiring from the regular British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in 1871, after seven years on half-pay.[
In 1870, he was one of two directors of The Land and Sea Telegraph Construction Company Ltd. as it applied to be wound up, the other being ]Augustus Anson
Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Henry Archibald Anson, VC (5 March 1835 – 17 November 1877) was a member of the Anson family and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy th ...
VC MP. Palliser was then "of No. 126 Belgrave-road, Pimlico
Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...
."
Palliser patented 21 ordnance-related inventions, including the armour-piercing Palliser shot
upPalliser shot, Mark I, for 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) gun
Palliser shot is an early British armour-piercing artillery projectile, intended to pierce the armour protection of warships being developed in the second half of the 19th centu ...
. He designed the "Palliser conversion" technique which was used successfully to convert many of Britain's obsolescent but still serviceable smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
muzzle-loading guns into more modern rifled muzzle-loaders (" RML") in the late 1860s and the 1870s.
In 1868 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
and in 1873 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 ...
by Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
at Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...
.[
In 1875, he became a ]lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in the 2nd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers
The 2nd Middlesex Artillery was a Volunteer unit of Britain's Royal Artillery. First raised in the Victorian era among Customs officers in the Port of London, it later became the 3rd London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery in the Territorial Force a ...
.[
Palliser was a ]Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
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 ...
for Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, in 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_ ...
, from 1880 until his death.
He developed land in North End, Fulham
North End was, until the last quarter of the 19th-century, a scattered hamlet among the fields and market gardens, between Counter's Creek and Walham Green in the Parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex.
In connection with the development o ...
in London, part of which was sold after his death and became the Queen's Club
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship reas ...
in West Kensington
West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includin ...
.
Private life
In November 1868, Palliser married Hanna Maria Perham (1843–1923), eldest daughter of George Perham. In 1880 he was living in Earl's Court Square
Earl's Court Square is a garden square in Earl's Court, London, England. It was developed from 1872 or 1873 on agricultural land belonging to the Edwardes family. It is primarily made up of stuccoed terraced houses with Italianate dressings b ...
, Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
.[ He died in 1882 of heart disease and was survived by his wife and four children. He is buried in ]Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...
, London.Residents
at brompton.org
Arms
See also
* Palliser shot
upPalliser shot, Mark I, for 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) gun
Palliser shot is an early British armour-piercing artillery projectile, intended to pierce the armour protection of warships being developed in the second half of the 19th centu ...
* RML 64 pounder 71 cwt gun
The RML 64-pounder 71 cwt guns (converted) were British rifled muzzle-loading guns converted from obsolete smoothbore 8-inch 65 cwt shell guns in the 1860s-1870s."71 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-po ...
: a gun made using Palliser's conversion
* RML 80 pounder 5 ton gun : conversion of ML 68-pounder to RML 80-pounder using Palliser's method
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palliser, William
1830 births
1882 deaths
Politicians from Dublin (city)
19th-century Anglo-Irish people
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
19th-century British inventors
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People educated at Rugby School
UK MPs 1880–1885
Burials at Brompton Cemetery
18th Royal Hussars officers
Members of the Inner Temple
British Army personnel of the Crimean War
Light Dragoons officers
Companions of the Order of the Bath