William Williams (Radical politician)

William Williams (12 February 1788 – 26 April 1865), was a Welsh Radical politician.

Portrait of William Williams

The grave of William Williams MP, Kensal Green Cemetery

Born in Llanpumsaint, Carmarthenshire, and having had only a basic education, Williams began working in a cotton warehouse in London and soon built up his own business. In 1833 he became a member of the Common Council of the City of London, and in 1835 was elected MP for Coventry. After losing the seat in 1847, he became MP for Lambeth in 1850.

As a result of a speech made by Williams on 10 March 1846, a government inquiry into the state of education in Wales was launched, culminating in the "Treachery of the Blue Books". In 1863 he chaired the meeting that launched the campaign for a University of Wales.

William Williams was a generous benefactor to the village of his birth, paying for the construction and furnishing of the village school in 1862.[1]

William Williams died on 26 April 1865, after falling from his horse in Hyde Park, London.[2] He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London, in a grave north-east of the main chapel, alongside his parliamentary friend Joseph Hume. A plaque is dedicated to him in the village school he founded in Llanpumsaint.