William Henry Gates II (November 30, 1925September 14, 2020), better known as Bill Gates Sr., was an American attorney, philanthropist, and civic leader. He was the founder of the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates (a predecessor of

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the firm was formed in 2007 by the ...

), and also served as president of both the Seattle King County and Washington State Bar associations. He was the father of

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

, co-founder of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Early life and education

Gates was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

, in 1925, and was the son of Lillian Elizabeth Rice (1891–1966) and William Henry Gates (1891–1969), who was himself the son of William Henry Gates, a

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

store owner and gold prospector during the Dawson Gold Rush of 1898. He graduated from Bremerton High School in 1943. Gates served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

for three years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He subsequently attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

under the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

, earning a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1949 and a J.D. degree in 1950. While at UW, he was a member of the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity consisting of active chapters at 34 American colleges and universities. Chi Psi was founded in 1841 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. It was the first Greek-letter organization to b ...

fraternity.

Career

Gates co-founded the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates in 1964, which later became a part of

Preston Gates & Ellis Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, also known as Preston Gates, was a law firm with offices in the United States, China, and Taiwan. Its main office was in the IDX Tower in Seattle. In 2007, the firm merged with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham ...

LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit aspects of both partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is n ...

(PGE). He practiced with the firm until 1998, when it was merged into the firm now known as

. Gates' legal practice focused on corporate, technology and disputes. During his career he served as president of both the Seattle/King County Bar Association and the

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is the state bar association of the U.S. state of Washington. It operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers a ...

. Gates served on the boards of numerous organizations in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, including the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, King County

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

. In 1995, he founded the Technology Alliance, whose mission is to expand technology-based employment in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. In 1998, Gates retired from Preston Gates & Ellis. He served for fifteen years on the Board of Regents of the University of Washington, and until his death was a co-chair of the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

, which his son

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

and his daughter-in-law

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melina meaning "sweet like honey ...

founded. He served as a director for the bulk retail corporation

Costco Wholesale Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Costc ...

from 2003, and was a founding co-chair of the Pacific Health Summit. He served as an honorary chair for the

World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment t ...

. The project works to lead a global,

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

effort to strengthen the

Rule of Law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

for the development of communities of opportunity and equity. Gates co-authored the book ''Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes'' with

Chuck Collins Chuck Collins (born October 19, 1959) is an American author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common G ...

. It is a defense of the policies promoted by the

estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...

. He was also the author of the book ''Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime''.

Notable cases

In 1987 Gates Sr. assisted

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz owned the Seattle SuperS ...

in buying the

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

coffee chain.

Personal life

In 1951, Gates married

Mary Maxwell Gates Mary Ann Gates (; July 5, 1929 – June 10, 1994) was an American banker, civic activist, non-profit executive, and schoolteacher. She was the first female president of King County's United Way, the first woman to chair the national United Way� ...

() (1929–1994), whom he met at the University of Washington (UW), and they remained married until her death in 1994. They had three children: Kristianne,

, and Libby. His two daughters, Kristi Blake and Libby Armintrout, are both active members of the UW community. He was a lifelong supporter of the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

college football team. In 1996, Gates married his second wife

Mimi Gardner Gates Mary "Mimi" Gates (née Gardner; born July 30, 1943) is an American art historian who is the recent director of the Seattle Art Museum. In 1996, she married Bill Gates Sr., the father of Bill Gates. Early life Gates obtained a Bachelor of Arts, ...

(b. 1943), who was director of the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The museum operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in ...

. In 2018, it was revealed that Gates was suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. He died on September 14, 2020, aged 94, at his beach home on

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord-like body of water that lies south of Admiralty Inlet in Washington State that some consider to be the western lobe and one of the five main basins of Puget Sound.Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. In a tribute, his son said that his "wisdom, generosity, empathy, and humility had a huge influence on people around the world."

Awards and recognition

* Awarded the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

, to acknowledge his business and civic success at least 25 years after earning

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

rank. 1941. * President of Seattle–King County Bar Association, 1969–1970 * President of

, 1986–1987 * Recipient of

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Asso ...

Distinguished Alumnus, 1991 * Recipient of

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

's Herbert Harley Award, 1992 * Served on Board for Judicial Administration, Washington State Supreme Court, 1993–1995 * Served on Board of Regents of the University of Washington, 1997–2012 * Inducted into

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, 2003 * William H. Gates Hall at the

was named for him in 2003 * Awarded

Washington Medal of Merit The Washington Medal of Merit is one of three statutory civilian decorations issued by the state of Washington, the others being the Washington Medal of Valor and the Washington Gift of Life Award (formerly the Washington Gift of Life Medal). Wa ...

, 2009 * Recipient of the American Bar Association Medal (2009), the highest honor in the American legal community * Recipient of

Fraternity's

Albert S. Bard Award The City Club of New York is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in New York City. In 1950, ''The New York Times'' called the City Club of New York "a social club with a civic purpose"Bill Gerberding, who was

President of the University of Washington The president of the University of Washington is the chief administrator of the University of Washington. The University of Washington is a public university in Seattle, Washington. Established in 1861 and originally known as the Territorial Uni ...

from 1979 to 1995, described Gates as "a good man with a big heart ndgenerous public spirit", while Norman Rice, former

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

, characterized Gates' core values as "social justice and economic opportunity".

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Bill Sr. 1925 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American philanthropists American law firm executives American nonprofit businesspeople American people of English descent American people of German descent Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation people Businesspeople from Seattle Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Washington (state) Neurological disease deaths in Washington (state) Gates family Lawyers from Seattle Military personnel from Washington (state) People from Bremerton, Washington People from Dearborn, Michigan Philanthropists from Washington (state) Regents of the University of Washington United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers University of Washington School of Law alumni