Sir William John Crossley, 1st Baronet (22 April 1844 – 12 October 1911) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
engineer and
LiberalThe 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.
W J Crossley was born at Glenburn, near
LisburnDemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
,
County AntrimCounty Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
. His ancestors had come to
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
from
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
at the time of the
Williamite WarThe Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
. He was educated at the
Royal School DungannonThe Royal School is a school located in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was one of a number of 'free schools' created by James I in 1608 to provide an education to the sons of local merchants and farmers during the plantation of Ulster. Originally setup in Mountjoy near Lough Neagh...
and in
BonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
.
He was first employed at the machine works of
W G ArmstrongSir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
,
ElswickElswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...
, before joining his brother, Francis to found the Crossley Brothers engineering firm in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1867. In 1876 the company began the production of gas engines, and the firm went on to be major employers. In 1876 he married Mabel Gordon Anderson. In 1903 he was given the freedom of the City of Manchester.
In
1906-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
he was asked to stand as Liberal candidate for the
parliamentary constituency of AltrinchamAltrincham was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1945. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, and defeated the sitting
ConservativeThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MPA 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,...
,
Coningsby DisraeliConingsby Ralph Disraeli , was a British Conservative politician.Born in Kensington, London, Disraeli was the son of Ralph Disraeli , the younger son of the writer Isaac D'Israeli. The Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was his uncle...
. He was created a
baronetThere have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Crossley, both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.The Crossley Baronetcy, of Belle Vue and Somerleyton, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 23 January 1863...
in 1909. He lost his parliamentary seat at the December 1910 election by 119 votes.
Crossley was involved in
philanthropic worksPhilanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, and built a sanitorium at
Delamere ForestDelamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a wood in the Cheshire West and Chester area of Cheshire, England, near the town of Frodsham. It includes of mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland, centred at around , making it the largest area of woodland in Cheshire...
for patients from Lancashire towns at his own expense. He was president of the Manchester
Young Men's Christian AssociationThe Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, and one of the original promoters of the
Manchester Ship CanalThe Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
. He was a teetotaler and treasurer of the
United Kingdom AllianceThe United Kingdom Alliance was a temperance movement in the United Kingdom founded on 20 July 1852. It was based in Manchester and sought to outlaw the alcohol trade.-History:...
, a
temperanceA temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
organisation.
Sir William and Lady Mabel had five children, Kenneth (1877–1957), Eric (1878–1949), Brian (b.1886), Lettice (b. 1879) and Cicely (b. 1880). Both Lettice and Cicely died as infants.
He died aged 67 in 1911, following complications from an operation.