Sir William John Crossley, 1st Baronet (22 April 1844 – 12 October 1911) was a British engineer and Liberal politician. W J Crossley was born at Glenburn, near

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. His ancestors had come to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

at the time of the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

.''Obituary: Sir W. J. Crossley'', The Times, 13 October 1911, p.9 He was educated at the

Royal School Dungannon The Royal School is a mixed boarding school located in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was one of a number of 'free schools' created by James I of England, James I (otherwise known as James VI of Scotland) in 1608 to provide an ed ...

and in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. He was first employed at the machine works of W G Armstrong, Elswick, before joining his brother, Francis to found the Crossley Brothers engineering firm in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1867. In 1876 the company began the production of gas engines, and the firm went on to be major employers. In

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

he was asked to stand as Liberal candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham, and defeated the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP, Coningsby Disraeli. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1909. He lost his parliamentary seat at the December 1910 election by 119 votes. Crossley was involved in philanthropic works. He was Chairman of the

Manchester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat and Chest The Manchester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat and Chest was an English hospital founded in 1875. It initially occupied a house at 18 St John Street, Manchester, with space for 8 inpatients. It moved to Bowdon then in Cheshire ...

and built a sanitorium at

Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large Woodland, wood in the village of Delamere, Cheshire, Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contai ...

for patients from Lancashire towns at his own expense. In 1903 he was given the freedom of the

City of Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

for his philanthropic work and donations. He was president of Manchester

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, and one of the original promoters of the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...

. He was a

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

er and treasurer of the

United Kingdom Alliance The United Kingdom Alliance (UKA) was a British temperance organisation. It was founded in 1853 in Manchester to work for the prohibition of the trade in alcohol in the United Kingdom. This occurred in a context of support for the type of law p ...

, a temperance organisation. In 1876 he married Mabel Gordon Anderson. Sir William and Lady Crossley had five children: *Kenneth Irwin Crossley (1877–1957), who succeeded as 2nd Baronet, and was

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the The Crown, Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law officer, law enforcement officer in th ...

in 1919. *Eric Crossley (1878–1949) *Brian Crossley (b. 1886) *Lettice Crossley (b. 1879) and Cicely Crossley (b. 1880). Both Lettice and Cicely died as infants. He died aged 67 in 1911, following complications from an operation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossley, Wiiliam J 1844 births 1911 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 People educated at the Royal School Dungannon Politicians from Lisburn Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom YMCA leaders Engineers from Manchester Politicians from Manchester Engineers from County Down Engineers from County Antrim