Henry Overton Wills III (22 December 1828 – 4 September 1911) of Kelston Knoll, near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

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 , lor ...

, was a prominent and wealthy member of the Bristol tobacco manufacturing family of Wills which founded the firm of W. D. & H. O. Wills. As a philanthropist his best-known act was the funding of the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, founded in 1909, of which he became the first

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Origins

He was the eldest of the 18 children of Henry Overton Wills II (1800-1871) by his first wife Isabella Board. He was a first-cousin of William Henry Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke, the first Chairman of

Imperial Tobacco Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mo ...

, formed by the merger of the family's original business with twelve other tobacco firms. He was the elder brother of

Sir Edward Payson Wills, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only a ...

(1834–1910) of Hazelwood and Clapton-in-Gordano and of

Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet (22 November 1838 – 18 February 1909) was a businessman, philanthropist and politician in the United Kingdom. He was a director of W. D. & H. O. Wills, a famous tobacco company headquartered in Bristol whic ...

(1838-1909) of Northmoor (father of Gilbert Wills, 1st Baron Dulverton). His younger half-brother was Sir Frank William Wills, Knight,

Lord Mayor of Bristol The position of Lord Mayor of Bristol was conferred on the city in June 1899 (effective 15 November 1899) as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours and was confirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1974. Prior to November 1899 the position of Ma ...

Career

Wills entered the family firm of W. D. & H. O. Wills in 1846, but retired from active association with the business in 1880, due to poor health. When the formation of

greatly increased the family’s wealth, various members began to contribute significant amounts of money to local causes. The most significant of these was announced in 1908 by his eldest son Sir George Alfred Wills, 1st Baronet (1854–1928), when he read a letter from his father promising £100,000 (about £10 million in today's money) to fund a university at Bristol if a royal charter for the purpose could be obtained within two years. With the charter and further funding quickly obtained, the

was founded in 1909 with Henry as its first Chancellor.

Marriage and children

Wills Memorial Building, Bristol University (2318)

In 1853 at Plymouth in Devon he married Alice Hopkinson (1827-1881), by whom he had issue including: * Sir George Alfred Wills, 1st Baronet (1854–1928), eldest son and heir, of Combe Lodge,

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural ...

, and of Burwalls, Leigh Woods,

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populati ...

, Somerset. He served as managing director and later as president of

. He donated about £135,000 for the creation of a hall of residence at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and in 1923 was created a Baronet "of Blagdon". Together with his brother Henry Herbert Wills he built the

Wills Memorial Building The Wills Memorial Building (also known as the Wills Memorial Tower or simply the Wills Tower) is a neo-Gothic building in Bristol, England, designed by Sir George Oatley and built as a memorial to Henry Overton Wills III

in Bristol in memory of his father. * Henry Herbert Wills (1856-1922), 2nd son, also active in the family tobacco firm of

WD & HO Wills W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons. The co ...

; *

Walter Melville Wills Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, 3rd son, also involved with the family tobacco business. *Arthur Stanley Wills (1862-1935), 4th son; *Maitland Wills (died April 1885), killed by a fall in North Wales; *H.O. Wills IV (d. October 1899), youngest son.

Death and burial

He died on 4 September 1911 at Kelston Knoll and was buried in Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol, where survives his monument, together with many others of the Wills family. His estate was valued at £5,214,821, about £520 million in today's money.

Legacy

The

, one of the landmark buildings of Bristol University, was built in Henry's honour by his sons George and

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

. One of the Wills' family homes, Downside House in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, is now a hall of residence known as

Wills Hall Wills Hall is one of more than twenty halls of residence in the University of Bristol. It is located high on the Stoke Bishop site on the edge of the Bristol Downs, and houses c. 370 students in two quadrangles. Almost all of these students a ...

for the university.

Arms

References

External links

Obituary
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'' ( ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Henry Overton III 1828 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople from Bristol Chancellors of the University of Bristol