William Crawford

Who was William Crawford?

Wiliam Crawford was a British Liberal Party politician who represented the City of London in the 19th century.

Crawford was born in London the son of Andrew Crawford, formerly of Dunfermline, and his wife Mary Spink. He spent his early life with the Honourable East India Company and made a fortune in India. He returned to England in around 1812, and was a partner in the East India Mercantile House of Crawford, Colvin and Company. He bought the estate of Pippbrook, near Dorking, Surrey in 1817 and made it his country home. In 1827 he was High Sheriff of Surrey.

He also had a house at Eaton Square, in the fashionable West End of London. He was a director of the Alliance Assurance Company and an alderman of the City of London in the Spectacle Makers' Company. In 1832 he stood unsuccessfully for parliament at Brighton at the general election in 1832, the first after the Reform Act. He was returned as Member of Parliament for the City of London in August 1833, and sat until he lost the seat the Tory swing of June 1841. He was in favour of the abolition of the window tax and opposed the Corn Laws and short parliaments.