| Authorised form of name | Portman; Sir; William (1643 - 1690); politician |
| Dates | 1643 - 1690 |
| Nationality | British |
| Date of birth | 5 September 1643 |
| Place of death | His seat of Orchard Portman, near Taunton, Somerset, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 20 March 1690 |
| Occupation | Landowner |
| Activity | Education:
All Souls College, Oxford (matriculated 1659)
Career:
MP for Taunton (1661-1678, 1678-1679, 1685-1687, 1689-1690); MP for Somerset (1679-1681); Commissioner for Assessment for Somerset (1661-1664), and for Somerset and Dorset (1664-1680, 1689-death); Deputy-Lieutenant for Somerset (1666-1687, 1689-death), and for Dorset (1688-death); Colonel of Militia, Dorset (1668-1687, 1688-death); Recorder of Taunton (1685-death); captured the Duke of Monmouth after the Battle of Sedgemoor (1685); Commissioner for preventing export of wool (1689-death)
Honours:
KB 1661
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 28/12/1664 |
| Proposer | John Graunt |
| Date of ejection or withdrawal | 22 July 1685 |
| Other Royal Society activity | Expelled due to non-payment of arrears |
| Relationships | Parents: Sir William Portman and Anna Colles; succeeded his father as sixth baronet (1645)
Married: 1) Elizabeth Cutler; 2) Elizabeth Southcote; 3) Mary Holman
Additional relatives: father-in-law Sir John Cutler (FRS 1664); nephew and heir Edward Seymour |
| OtherInfo | Not much is know about Portman's interest in or contribution to the Royal Society's work. Due to his family's strong royalist support and his father's death in the Tower of London in 1645, the family's estate and assets were severely diminished during the Protectorate. Through multiple factors, including beneficial marriages, Portman could restore his family's fortune. Portman was initially a supporter of the Duke of York's exclusion and after James II's ascension to the throne, he withdrew from public life. He furthermore opposed the motion to crown William of Orange and Mary as monarchs. His will included bequests to servants and day labourers. |
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| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Foster; Hunter; Henning; ODNB
Notes:
Various sources have different years of birth: 1641 (index to BR); 1643 (Hunter); 1644 (BR).
Some sources have mother's name as Elizabeth. |
| Code | NA7263 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| IM/003634 | Portman, Sir William | nd |