Sir William Clay, 1st Baronet (15 August 1791 – 13 March 1869) was an English Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician.

Clay was the son of George Clay, a prominent London merchant and shipowner.

He was elected at the 1832 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1832

-Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....

 as a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets (UK Parliament constituency)

Tower Hamlets was a parliamentary borough constituency in, Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

, and held the seat for 25 years until his defeat at the 1857 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1857

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

. He served under Lord Melbourne

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...

 as Joint Secretary to the Board of Control

Secretary to the Board of Control

The Secretary to the Board of Control was a British government office in the late 18th and early 19th century, supporting the President of the Board of Control, who was responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for...

 from 1839 to 1841. On 30 September 1841 he was made a Baronet

Clay Baronets

The Clay Baronetcy, of Fulwell Lodge in the County of Middlesex, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1841 for William Clay, Member of Parliament for Tower Hamlets from 1832 to 1857 and Secretary to the Board of Control from 1839 to 1841...

, of Fulwell Lodge in the County of Middlesex.

Clay married Harriet, daughter of Thomas Dickason, of Fulwell Lodge, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, in 1822. They had several children. Lady Clay died in December 1867. Clay survived her by two years and died in March 1869, aged 77. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, William.

Family

Sir William Clay, 2n Baronet married Mariana Emily, daughter of Leo Schuster in 1855. They had no children. He died on 3 November 1877. His widow married Arthur Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton

Arthur Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton

Arthur Lawrence Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton GCB DL was a Canadian-born British civil servant.-Background and education:...

.