William Otter (23 October 1768 – 20 August 1840) was the first Principal of

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

, who later served as

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

Early life

William Otter was born at Cuckney, Nottinghamshire on 23 October 1768, the son of Dorothy ( née Wright) Otter (d. 1772) and the Rev. Edward Otter. He was educated at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he was later made a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Career

Bust of a noble Bishop within Chichester Cathedral - geograph

He was appointed Principal of the newly established King's College, London, in 1831, and held the post until 1836 when he was appointed

. Otter established a small college to train schoolmasters in 1840, which was rebuilt in his memory in 1849 as Bishop Otter College, now the main Bishop Otter Campus of the University of Chichester.

Personal life

On 3 July 1804, he married Nancy Sadleir Bruère in Leatherhead, Surrey. Nancy was a granddaughter of George Bruere,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Governor of Bermuda. Together, they had three sons and five daughters: * The Ven. William Bruère Otter (1805–1876), the Archdeacon of Lewes who married Elizabeth Melvil (1814–1892). * Sophia Otter (1807–1889), who married the Reverend Henry Malthus (1805–1882), son of

Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Ma ...

. * Caroline Charlotte Otter (1809–1855), who married John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly. * Jacqueline Elizabeth Otter (1811–1849), who married Alexander Trotter, a banker and stockbroker at Coutts Bank. After her death, he married Isabella Strange, a daughter of Sir Thomas Strange. * Maria Otter (b. 1814), who married Sir William Milbourne James, Lord Justice of Appeal. * Alfred William Otter (1815–1866), who married Anna Louisa de la Hooke (1824–1907). * Amelia Harriet Otter (1817–1890), who married Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper. * Reginald William Ongley Otter (1826–1862) Otter died on 20 August 1840.

Descendants

His eldest son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

had four sons and six daughters, including Lt. William Otter RN (1840–1870), and was the grandfather of Hugh Otter-Barry, Bishop of Mauritius. Through his son Alfred, he was a grandfather of Gen.

William Dillon Otter General Sir William Dillon Otter (December 3, 1843 – May 6, 1929) was a professional Canadian soldier who became the first Canadian-born Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Militia. Military career Otter was born near Clinton ...

. Through his daughter Jacqueline, he was a grandfather of Coutts Trotter (1837–1887), Vice Master of Trinity College, Cambridge,

Edward Bush Trotter Edward Bush Trotter (10 December 1842 – 14 July 1920) was an Anglican Archdeacon in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Trotter was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge and ordained in 1867. After a curacy at Holy Trinity, Habe ...

(1842–1920), Archdeacon of Western Downs, Australia, Col. Sir Henry Trotter. Through his daughter Maria, he was a grandfather of Maj. William Christopher James, who married Effie Gray Millais (the daughter of Effie Gray and

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

References

;Notes ;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Otter, William 1768 births 1840 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Principals of King's College London Bishops of Chichester People associated with the University of Chichester 19th-century Church of England bishops