Sir William Burroughs, 1st Baronet (c. 1753 – 1 June 1829) was an Anglo-Irish judge and politician.
Burroughs was the son of the Venerable Lewis Burroughs, Archdeacon of Derry, by Mary Cane, daughter of Richard Cane, of Larabrian, County Kildare. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin,[1] and was called to the Irish Bar in 1778 and to the English Bar in 1803.[2]
Burroughs practised at the Irish Bar for ten years. After coming into financial difficulties he tried his fortune in British India in 1789. In 1792, he was appointed Advocate-General of Bengal. After making a comfortable fortune he resigned his post and returned to Britain in 1801.[2]
The following year he was returned to parliament for Enniskillen. In 1804 he was created a baronet, of Castle Bagshaw in the County of Wicklow.
In 1806, he was made a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Calcutta[2] and resigned his seat in parliament the same year. He returned to Britain in 1817[2] and was elected to the House of Commons as one of two representatives for Colchester. He continued to represent this constituency until 1818 and then sat for Taunton until 1819.
Burroughs married Letitia Newburgh had one son and three daughters.[3]
Several reputable sources, including the Dictionary of National Biography, describe him as the grandfather of General Sir Frederick Traill-Burroughs (born Burroughs). However, Traill-Burroughs was born 15 years after the death of Sir William's only son.[4] [5]
He died in Bath in 1829, at which point the baronetcy became extinct.