Clements, William L. (William Lawrence), 1861-1934

Bay City, Michigan, industrialist, Republican member of the the University of Michigan Board of Regents, 1909-1933, and founder of the William L. Clements Library.

Henry John Temple was born in Westminster, London, England, on October 20, 1784, the eldest son of Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston (1739-1802), and Mary Mee (1754-1805). He attended Harrow School (1795-1800), Edinburgh University (1800-1803), and St. John's College, Cambridge (1803-1806). He inherited the title of viscount upon his father's death in 1802. Palmerston was elected to Parliament in 1806 and became a lord of the Admiralty in 1807. He served as secretary of war and foreign secretary and was prime minister from 1855-1858 and 1859-1865. Palmerston had many mistresses, with whom he is thought to have fathered several children, including William Francis Cowper-Temple (1811-1888), the son of Emily Mary Lamb (1787-1869). Palmerston married Lamb on December 16, 1839. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, died on October 18, 1865.

William L. Clements, born April 1, 1861, was educated at the University of Michigan then went to work as an engineer with the Industrial Works in Bay City, Michigan. He gradually worked his way up in the company, being promoted to the position of superintendent and manager, and then in 1898, to the office of president.

Clements was elected to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan in 1909 and served until 1933. He was also founder of the William L. Clements Library of early Americana at the university and donated much of the collection as well as the building in which it was to be housed. He died November 6, 1934.

Robert Peel, 1st baronet was born in Oswaldtwistle, England, on April 25, 1750, the son of Robert Peel (1723-1795) and Elizabeth Howarth. The younger Robert Peel attended grammar school in Blackburn, England, and worked for his father's calico printing business before opening his own calico printing works in Bury, England, in 1772. He became a leading figure in the growing cotton industry and expanded his operations to several other towns. Peel married his first wife, Ellen Yates (1766-1803), on July 8, 1783. They had nine children, including Robert (1788-1850), William Yates (1789-1858), Jonathan (1799-1879), and Laurence (1801-1888). In 1790, the elder Robert Peel began representing Tamworth in Parliament, and in 1800, he was granted a baronetcy. He married his second wife, Susanna Clerke (d. 1824), on October 17, 1805. Robert Peel, 1st baronet, died on May 3, 1830.

Robert Peel, 2nd baronet was born in Bury, England, on February 5, 1788, the first son of Robert Peel and Ellen Yates. He was first educated by private tutors, and he later attended Harrow School (1801-1804) and Christ Church, Oxford (1805-1808). In 1809, he entered the House of Commons, and he became an undersecretary for Lord Liverpool in 1810. From 1812-1818, Peel was chief secretary for Ireland, where he became notorious for anti-Catholic policies and sentiment, and from 1822-1827 and 1828-1830 he was home secretary. On June 8, 1820, he married Julia Floyd (1795-1859), and they had seven children: Julia (b. 1821), Robert (1822-1895), Frederick (1823-1906), William (1824-1858), John Floyd (b. 1827), Arthur Wellesley (1829-1912), and Eliza (b. 1832). Peel served a brief term as prime minister from 1834-1835, was opposition leader from 1835-1841, and became prime minister again in 1841. During his second term as prime minister, he oversaw moderate financial reforms and controversially repealed the Corn Laws. After leaving office in 1846, Peel continued to represent Tamworth in Parliament, a seat he had inherited upon his father's death in 1830. Robert Peel, 2nd baronet, died on July 2, 1850.

Robert Peel, 3rd baronet was born in London, England, on May 4, 1822, the eldest son of Robert Peel and Julia Floyd. He attended Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, and he held diplomatic posts in Madrid, Spain, and in Switzerland. He inherited his father's parliamentary seat for Tamworth in 1850. From 1854-1859, he was a captain in the Staffordshire yeomanry, and in 1855 he became a junior lord of the admiralty. From 1861-1865, Peel was chief secretary for Ireland under Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. After surrendering his Tamworth seat in 1880, he represented Huntingdon, and subsequently Blackburn. He and his wife, Lady Emily Hay, married on January 13, 1856, and had four children. Robert Peel, 3rd baronet, died on May 9, 1895.