William H. Gates Sr. | |
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Gates Sr. visits the Naz Foundation's care centre for HIV Positive children, during his visit to India in September 2004
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Born |
William Henry Gates II November 30, 1925 Bremerton, Washington, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Washington |
Occupation | Lawyer (retired) |
Spouse(s) |
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Children | 3; including Bill Gates |
William Henry "Bill" Gates (born William Henry Gates II; November 30, 1925), also known publicly as Bill Gates Sr., is a retired American attorney and philanthropist and author of the book Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime. He is the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
One of a line of businessmen named William H. Gates, and sometimes called William Gates Jr. in his career, he is now generally known as William Henry Gates Sr. due to the greater prominence of his son William H. Gates III (Bill Gates).
Gates was born in 1925 in Bremerton, Washington, to William Henry Gates I or Sr. (1891 – 1969) and Lillian Elizabeth Rice (1891 – 1966); the couple had married in 1913. His paternal grandmother was German and his maternal grandmother was English, and he was apparently the third William Henry Gates, despite being named the second. Gates was an active member of a Boy Scout troop for several years, and earned the Eagle Scout Award in 1941. After high school he enlisted in the United States Army, changing his name to William Gates Jr. to avoid the appearance of elitism. He fought in World War II and was honorably discharged in November 1946.
He attended the University of Washington (UW) under the G.I. Bill, where he earned a B.A. in 1949 and a law degree in 1950. While at Washington he joined the Chi Psi Fraternity. He co-founded Shidler & King in 1964, which later became Preston Gates & Ellis LLP. He practiced with the firm until 1998, and the firm was merged into the firm now known as K&L Gates (Bill Gates Sr. is not affiliated with the firm).