Sir Joseph Williamson
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Sir Joseph Williamson |
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| Member of Parliament for Thetford |
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In office 1665–1685 |
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| Member of Parliament for Rochester |
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In office 1690–1701 |
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| President of the Royal Society | |
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In office 1677–1680 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | July 25th 1633 Bridekirk |
| Died | 3 October 1701 (aged 68) Cobham, Kent |
| Resting place | Westminster Abbey |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Stewart, Baroness Clifton |
Sir Joseph Williamson, PRS (25 July 1633 – 3 October 1701) was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699. He was Secretary of State for the Northern Department 1674-9.
Williamson was born at Bridekirk, near Cockermouth in Cumberland, where his father, also called Joseph, was vicar. His father died when he was very young, and his mother remarried the Reverend John Ardery. His relatively humble origins were often referred to unkindly in later life by his enemies. He was educated at St. Bees School, Westminster School and Queen's College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow.
In 1660 he entered the service of the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, Sir Edward Nicholas, retaining his position under the succeeding secretary, Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards Earl of Arlington. He was involved with the foundation of the London Gazette in 1665.
Williamson was elected Member of Parliament for Thetford in 1669 and held the seat until 1685. No less than three previous attempts to enter Parliament had been unsuccessful, due to an increasing "backlash" against Government candidates. Samuel Pepys in his celebrated Diary records that when Williamson appeared at the hustings in 1666, he was shouted down by cries of "No courtiers!" In 1672 he was made one of the clerks of the council and a knight.
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