William Leighton (Lord Mayor of London)
{{Short description|British shipowner and merchant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
Sir William Leighton (1752 – 23 April 1826) was a British shipowner and merchant who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1806.{{cite book|author=SYLVANUS URBAN|title=THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE: AND HISTORICAL CHRONICLES.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbMUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA477|year=1826|pages=477–}}
Leighton's family was from County Durham in the North East of England and he moved to London around 1779 following his father's death.{{cite web|title=Pathways to the Convict Contractors to Australia|url=http://www.merchantnetworks.com.au/timelines/pathways1.htm|work=Merchant Networks|accessdate=4 January 2014}} Leighton worked as a coal merchant shipping coal from the port of Newcastle, and was based at Newcastle's Coal Exchange.
Leighton was a prominent shipowner who owned {{ship||Borrowdale|1785 ship|2}}, {{ship||Fishburn|1780 ship|2}} and {{ship||Golden Grove|1782 ship|2}}, three of the ships of the First Fleet, which transported convicts to the British colony of New south Wales.{{cite web |url= http://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/?s=leighton&submit=Search |title=Ships of the First Fleet |work=First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc |year=2012 |accessdate=5 January 2013}} Leighton also owned several ships that were sent as military transports to the British Province of Quebec with contracts from the British Navy.
Because of his maritime interests, Leighton served on various shipping committees.
Civic career
Leighton was a member of the Livery company of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights.{{cite book|author=Benjamin Brogden Orridge|author-link=Benjamin Brogden Orridge|title=Some Account of the Citizens of London and Their Rulers, from 1060 to 1867|url=https://archive.org/details/someaccountciti00orrigoog|year=1867|publisher=W. Tegg|pages=[https://archive.org/details/someaccountciti00orrigoog/page/n287 251]–}} He was created an alderman in the City of London's Billingsgate ward in 1799, before his resignation as an alderman in 1821. He was subsequently elected one of the Sheriffs of the City of London in 1803.
In 1806, Leighton was proclaimed Lord Mayor of London, and knighted on 1 May that year. Leighton was listed as one of the governors of Christ's Hospital in 1825.{{cite book|title=The Economist and General Adviser|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXFBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA278|year=1825|pages=278–}}
Leighton died at Kemnal House in Kent, in 1826. He had previously lived in Charlton.
References
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{{s-bef|before=James Shaw}}
{{s-ttl|title=Lord Mayor of London |years=1806–1807}}
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Category:18th-century English businesspeople
Category:19th-century English businesspeople
Category:Aldermen of the City of London
Category:British businesspeople in shipping
Category:British businesspeople in the coal industry
Category:History of Australia (1788–1850)
Category:19th-century lord mayors of London
Category:19th-century English politicians
Category:18th-century English politicians