William Jones

Sir William Jones (1631 – 2 May 1682) was an English lawyer and politician. Life Jones was the son of Richard Jones, of Stowey, Somerset, MP for Somerset in 1654, and his wife Joyce Woodward. He entered Gray's Inn on 6 May 1647. He was called to the bar, and acquired a practice in the Court of King's Bench. George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham befriended him, and he was knighted and made a King's Counsel in 1671. He was generally considered to be a lawyer of considerable learning. He was Solicitor-General from 11 November 1673 until 25 June 1675, when he was appointed Attorney-General. He directed the prosecution of the victims of Titus Oates's plot in 1678, but resigned from the attorney-generalship in November 1679, saying that he had found the burden of work intolerable. As a man noted for his timid disposition, he was probably not well suited to be a law officer in a time of acute political crisis. He was returned to the House of Commons as member for Plymouth at a by-election on 3 November 1680. He was a manager for the Commons at Lord Stafford's trial (30 November), where he presented the prosecution case with skill, and was heavily involved in the passage of the Exclusion Bill through the Commons: his forceful speeches attracted much attention, and were notable contrast to his normal reputation for timidity.