Career
He became the first Chancellor of the University of Bristol. Wills entered the family firm of West. Doctorate. & H. O. Wills in 1846, but retired from active association with the business in 1880, due to poor health. When the formation of Imperial Tobacco greatly increased the family’s wealth, they began to contribute significant amounts of money to local causes.
With the charter and further funding quickly obtained, the University of Bristol was founded in 1909 with Henry as its first Chancellor.
When he died in 1911, his estate was valued at £5,214,821, around £520 million in today"s money. One of the Wills" family homes, Downside House in Bristol, is now a hall of residence known as Wills Hall for the university.
Henry Overton Wills was the cousin of William Henry Wills, first Chairman of Imperial Tobacco.