William Gibson (Ulster Unionist Party politician) explained

William Gibson
Office1:Member of the Senate of Northern Ireland
Term1:1935-1942
Party:Ulster Unionist
Birth Date:1859 or 1860
Education:Royal University of Ireland
Module:
Embed:yes
Branch:Ulster Volunteers
Unit:3rd East Belfast Regiment
Rank:Commander

William Gibson (born 1859 or 1860) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Gibson studied at the Royal University of Ireland before becoming a general practitioner.[1] He was elected to local posts in Belfast; for example, becoming a Poor Law Guardian for Ballymacarrett in 1895.[2] He was the first commander of the 3rd East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteers,[3] and in the early 1910s served as Honorary Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council.[4]

Following the death of George Clark in 1935, Gibson was selected as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for the Senate of Northern Ireland, and he defeated Robert Dorman, his Northern Ireland Labour Party opponent, by 35 votes to 5.[5] He was appointed as a Deputy Speaker in 1941, but resigned from the Senate the following year.[6]

References

  1. John F. Harbinson, The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882-1973, p.206
  2. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1895/apr/08/ballymacarrett-poor-law-election Ballymacarrett Poor Law Election
  3. Timothy Bowman, Carson's Army: the Ulster Volunteer Force, 1910-22, p.98
  4. Constantine FitzGibbon, Red Hand: The Ulster Colony, p.256
  5. "New Ulster Senator", Daily Mirror, 1 May 1935, p.7
  6. http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/hnisen.htm The Northern Ireland Senate, 1921-72