William Willis (29 April 1835 – 22 August 1911) was an English barrister, judge, and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. He sat 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. ...

from 1880 to 1885.

Life

Born 29 April 1835 in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, he was the son of William Willis, a straw hat manufacturer of

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and Esther Kentish Masters of London. He was educated at

Huddersfield College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Angela Williams. On 17 May 2016 the ...

and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. 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 ...

at 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 1861 and went on the south-eastern circuit. In 1877 he became a QC.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> Willis visited Japan in late 19th century. He married firstly Annie Outhwaite, daughter of John Outhwaite and Elizabeth Collins, by whom he had six daughters and four sons. Following Annie's death around 1894, he married Marie Elizabeth Moody on 2 September 1897, with whom he had one son, Arthur Thomas Willis. At the 1880 general election Willis was elected

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 ...

(MP) for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. He held the seat until 1885. Willis died on 22 August 1911 at the age of 76.

References

External links

* 1835 births 1911 deaths Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London People educated at Huddersfield New College Members of the Inner Temple Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 English barristers 19th-century English judges {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub