William Williams MP

William Williams MP (1788-1865) was born in Tredarren, Llanpumpsaint, Carmarthenshire. Beginning as an apprentice shopkeeper, by 1820 Williams was established as a wholesale cotton and linen warehouseman and began to travel regularly to countries such as Russia and the United States. In 1835 he became a Member of Parliament for Coventry (and later for Lambeth). He carried out extensive work for the benefit of education in Wales, and a few weeks before his death he altered his will in order to donate £1,000 to the cause of university education in Wales. He died in Regent's Park in April 1865. Unfortunately, the work was stolen from the Old College in the early 1980s and has never been found.