William Watson, Baron Watson

PC
Lord Advocate
In office 1876–1880
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Prime Minister	Benjamin Disraeli
Deputy	John Macdonald, as Solicitor General for Scotland
Preceded by	Edward Gordon
Succeeded by	John McLaren
Solicitor General for Scotland
In office 1874–1876
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Prime Minister	Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	John Millar
Succeeded by	John Macdonald
Member of Parliament for Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities
In office 1876–1880
Preceded by	Edward Gordon
Succeeded by	James Alexander Campbell
Personal details
Born	25 August 1827 Covington, Lanarkshire
Died	14 September 1899(1899-09-14) (aged 71)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Margaret Bannatyne
Residence(s)	20 Queen's Gate, South Kensington
Alma mater	University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh
Profession	Advocate

William Watson, Baron Watson,

Early life

Watson was born in Covington, Lanarkshire on 25 August 1827. He was the eldest son and second of the six children of Eleonora and Reverend Thomas Watson. He was educated privately and studied law at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.^[1] He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1851^[1] and appeared for the defence of Dr Edward William Pritchard, the poisoner, in 1865.^[3]

Career

Watson was appointed

• consideration
• Liquidators of the Maritime Bank of Canada v. Receiver-General of New Brunswick [1892] A.C. 437 - statement of provincial powers under the BNA Act 1867
• Cooper v Stuart (1889); the case which cemented the legal fiction of terra nullius in Australia for a century before the High Court overturned it with Mabo v Queensland (No 2) in 1992.^[9][10]

Personal life

Watson married Margaret Bannatyne (1846-1898) in 1868, and the couple had five sons and a daughter. His son William also became a

Lord Thankerton while another son, Ronald, was a first-class cricketer. Watson lived at 20 Queen's Gate in South Kensington, and was a member of the Athenæum and the Carlton Club.^[1]

He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh against the north wall, of the Victorian north extension, near the north-west corner.

Coat of arms of William Watson, Baron Watson

Crest The stump of an oak tree with two branches sprouting from it and grasped on either side by a hand issuing from a cloud all Proper. Escutcheon Or an oak tree Proper growing out of a mount in base Vert surmounted of a fess Ermine charged with two mullets Azure. Supporters Dexter a highland deerhound Proper; sinister a lion Argent, each charged on the shoulder with a thistle slipped and leaved Proper. Motto A Deo Floruit [11]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "William Watson, Baron Watson". Who's Who. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 1)
3. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28876. (Subscription or UK public library membership
   required.)
4. ^ London Gazette 24 July 1874
5. ^
   ISBN 0-900178-26-4
   .
6. ^ London Gazette 13 October 1876
7. ^ London Gazette 2 April 1878.
8. ^ ^{a b} London Gazette 27 April 1880
9. App Cas 286 (3 April 1889), Privy Council
   (NSW).
10. ^ Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992] HCA 23, (1992) 175 CLR 1 (3 June 1992), High Court of Australia.
11. ^ Burke's Peerage. 1886.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Watson

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edward Gordon	Member of Parliament for Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities 1876–1880	Succeeded by James Alexander Campbell
Legal offices
Preceded by John Millar	Solicitor General for Scotland 1874–1876	Succeeded by John Macdonald
Preceded by Edward Gordon	Lord Advocate 1876–1880	Succeeded by John McLaren