# Samuel Gillott
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{{Short description|Australian lawyer and politician (1838–1913)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = '''Sir Samuel Gillott'''
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Sir Samuel Gillott.jpg
| caption =
| order = 47th [Mayor of Melbourne](/source/Mayor_of_Melbourne)
| term_start = 1900
| term_end = 1902
| deputy =
| predecessor = Sir [Malcolm Donald McEacharn](/source/Malcolm_Donald_McEacharn)
| order2 = 48th [Lord Mayor of Melbourne](/source/Lord_Mayor_of_Melbourne)
| term_start2 = 1902
| term_end2 = 1903
| deputy2 =
| successor2 = Sir [Malcolm Donald McEacharn](/source/Malcolm_Donald_McEacharn)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1838|10|29|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1913|6|29|1838|10|29|df=yes}}
| death_place = [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom)
| spouse =
| party =
}}
'''Sir Samuel Gillott''' (29 October 1838 – 29 June 1913) was an Australian lawyer and politician, commonly known as a former [Lord Mayor of Melbourne](/source/Lord_Mayor_of_Melbourne).
==Early life==
Gillott was born in the city of [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), then in the [West Riding of Yorkshire](/source/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire), [England](/source/England), the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Gillott.[{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |volume=9 |year=1983 |title=Sir Samuel Gillott (1838–1913) |id2=gillott-sir-samuel-6390 |first=David |last=Dunstan |access-date=12 August 2025}}] Educated in [Sheffield Grammar School](/source/Sheffield_Grammar_School), Gillott moved to [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), Australia at the age of 17, in 1856. He was employed by a law firm, Vaughan, Moule & Seddon, and received his law degree from the [University of Melbourne](/source/University_of_Melbourne). Immediately after he started practicing law, Vaughan, Moule & Seddon offered him a [partnership](/source/partnership). During the 1890s, Gillott specialized in [police court](/source/Magistrates'_court_(England_and_Wales)) practice, with a firm exception being the [Speight v. Syme libel case](/source/David_Syme).[
==Politics==
Gillott was elected as Mayor of Melbourne in 1896, but lost his mayorship in 1899 by one vote. In November 1899, Gillott was elected to the seat of [East Melbourne](/source/Electoral_district_of_East_Melbourne), in the [Victorian Legislative Assembly](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Assembly); he held this seat until his resignation on 4 December 1906.][{{Cite Parliament of Victoria Member Profile |name=Sir Samuel Gillott (Kt) |id=samuel-gillott |access-date=12 August 2025}}] He became President of the [Law Institute](/source/Law_Institute) in 1900. In the same year, Gillott was re-elected as the Mayor of Melbourne. Promoted to [Lord Mayor](/source/Lord_Mayor) in 1901, Gillott was [knight](/source/Knight_Bachelor)ed in the same year during the visit to Australia of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later [King George V](/source/George_V) and [Queen Mary](/source/Mary_of_Teck)).[{{London Gazette |issue=27370 |date=1 November 1901 |page=7045}}] In 1901, under the state ministry of Sir [George Turner](/source/George_Turner_(Australian_politician)), Gillott was given the role of Honorary Minister. After the Turner Government's fall that year, he stayed on the ministry, becoming [Attorney General](/source/Attorney_General). In 1904, under the premiership of Sir [Thomas Bent](/source/Thomas_Bent), Gillott became the [Chief Secretary](/source/Chief_Secretary_of_New_South_Wales) and the Minister for Labour.[
[[File:Samuel Gillott Grave, Melbourne General Cemetery.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Grave of Samuel Gillott at [Melbourne General Cemetery](/source/Melbourne_General_Cemetery)]]
In May 1906, controversy arose for Gillott when a [demagogue reformer](/source/Demagogy), [William Judkins](/source/William_Judkins), held him responsible for [illegal gambling](/source/illegal_gambling). As proof, Judkins named [John Wren](/source/John_Wren)'s illegal betting schemes, which he held as evidence of a corrupt government. As a result of the controversial issue, Thomas Bent agreed to prohibit off-course betting. Later that year, Gillott introduced the gaming suppression bill. Following the gambling controversy, [John Norton](/source/John_Norton_(journalist))'s newspaper, ''[The Truth](/source/The_Truth_(Sydney_newspaper))'', published an article on Gillott, linking him to a well known [brothel](/source/brothel) proprietor, [Caroline Hodgson](/source/Caroline_Hodgson), and revealing his financial dealings with her since 1877. Resigning from parliament and the ministry after these allegations, Gillott returned to England, where he stayed for almost a year.][
Returning to Australia after a year in England, he resumed his seat in the Melbourne City Council, and became president and councillor of the [Working Men's College of Melbourne](/source/RMIT_University). On another visit to England in 1913, Gillott died after falling down a flight of stairs at night in Sheffield. He was 74 years of age. His body was returned to Australia and was interred at [Melbourne General Cemetery](/source/Melbourne_General_Cemetery).][
==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillott, Samuel}}
Category:1838 births
Category:1913 deaths
Category:Politicians from Melbourne
Category:Mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne
Category:People educated at Sheffield Grammar School
Category:Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery
Category:Accidental deaths from falls in the United Kingdom
Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Category:Chief secretaries of Victoria
Category:Attorneys-general of Victoria
Category:Ministers for labour (Victoria)
Category:20th-century mayors of places in Australia
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel Gillott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gillott) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gillott?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
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