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Authorised form of nameBridgeman; William (c1646 - 1699); government official
Other forms of surnameBridgman
Datesc1646 - 1699
NationalityBritish
Place of birthAmsterdam, [modern day Netherlands], Europe
Date of birthc. 1646
Date of death10 May 1699
OccupationCivil servant
ActivityEducation:
Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1662)
Career:
Under-Secretary of State (1667-1681, 1683-1689, 1690-1692, 1693-1694); Commissioner for Assessment for Westminster (1679-1680), 1689-1690); Commissioner for Superstitious Uses (1690); MP for Bramber, Sussex (1685-1687); Clerk of the Privy Council (1685-1689, 1693-death); Registrar of the Ecclesiastical Commission (1687-1688); Deputy-Lieutenant of Middlesex (1692-death); Member of the Royal Fisheries, Ireland (1692); Secretary to the Admiralty (1694-1698); Chairman of the Charitable Adventure (a lottery for the benefit of Greenwich Hospital) (1699)
Memberships:
Clothworkers' Company
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election18/12/1679
ProposerThomas Henshaw
RSActivityRoyal Society roles:
Council: 1698
Other Royal Society activityListed for possible expulsion in 1685 due to non-payment of arrears, although he was 'reinstated'
RelationshipsParents: Richard Bridgeman and Catherine Watson
Married: Diana Vernatti
Children: Orlando Bridgeman FRS 1696)
Additional relatives: cousin Sir Orlando Bridgeman (FRS 1698)
OtherInfoAfter the revolution in 1688, Bridgeman was questioned about his activities under James II. As Secretary to the Admiralty, he was credited with bringing a proper and ordered system of administration to the office and some of the administrative precedents he set lasted well into the 18th century. Bridgeman's father was a merchant with the East India Company and despite his alleged royalist support, William Bridgeman was able to be naturalised in 1657.
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; Hunter; Foster; Henning; Foster Lancs; Shaw LD; Evelyn; ODNB
Notes:
Birth place likely, rather than definite. Evelyn vol IV, p197 says that he introduced William Bridgeman to be a member of the Royal Society 18 March 1680.
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/317285061
CodeNA8432
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