# William Peter

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For the New Zealand politician, see [William Spence Peter](/source/William_Spence_Peter).

**William Peter** (22 March 1788 – 6 February 1853) was a British diplomat and [Whig](/source/Whigs_(British_political_party)) politician who sat in the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) from 1832 to 1835.

Peter was born at Harlyn, [St Merryn](/source/St_Merryn), Cornwall, the son of Henry Peter and his wife Anna Maria. He was educated at [Christ Church, Oxford](/source/Christ_Church,_Oxford), receiving BA in 1807 and MA in 1809.[1] He was called to the bar at [Lincoln's Inn](/source/Lincoln's_Inn) on 28 May 1813. After a few years in London, he returned to Cornwall where he was a [J.P.](/source/Justice_of_the_peace) and [deputy lieutenant](/source/Deputy_lieutenant). He compiled a two-volume set of *Speeches of Sir Samuel Romilly in the House of Commons*, published in 1820.[2]

At the [1832 general election](/source/1832_United_Kingdom_general_election) Peter was elected as [member of parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) (MP) for [Bodmin](/source/Bodmin_(UK_Parliament_constituency)), and held the seat until 1835 when he stood down.[3]

In 1840, he was living at [Bruges](/source/Bruges) when he received an appointment as HM Consul in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) USA. In the United States he married [Sarah Ann Worthington King](/source/Sarah_Peter), daughter of [Ohio Governor](/source/Ohio_Governor) and [U. S. Senator](/source/United_States_Senate) [Thomas Worthington](/source/Thomas_Worthington_(governor)), and widow of [Edward King](/source/Edward_King_(Ohio_politician)) a prominent [Ohio](/source/Ohio) politician and son of [Minister to Great Britain](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Great_Britain) [Rufus King](/source/Rufus_King). She died in 1877 in [Cincinnati, Ohio](/source/Cincinnati,_Ohio).[4] Peter died in Philadelphia at the age of 64 and was buried in [St Peter's Churchyard, Philadelphia](/source/St._Peter's_Church,_Philadelphia).[5]

He was elected to the [American Philosophical Society](/source/American_Philosophical_Society) in 1841.[6]

## References

1. [*William Peter HM consul at Philadelphia* The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 1956](https://www.jstor.org/pss/20088906)

1. Renick, L W; Fullerton, M D; Nipgen, M P (1896). [*Che-le-co-the, glimpses of yesterday: a souvenir of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Chillicothe, Ohio April 1896*](https://archive.org/details/chelecotheglimps00reni). Chillicothe: Knickerbocker Press, New York. pp. [61](https://archive.org/details/chelecotheglimps00reni/page/61)–62.

1. [Bronson, William White, Hildeburn, Charles Swift Riché *The inscriptions in St. Peter's church yard, Philadelphia* 1879](https://archive.org/stream/inscriptionsinst00bron#page/92/mode/2up)

1. ["APS Member History"](https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1841&year-max=1841&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced). *search.amphilsoc.org*. Retrieved 2021-04-09.

## External links

- [William Peter](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=121&GScid=1990077&GRid=11370965&) at [Find A Grave](/source/Find_A_Grave)

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