Background
He was born on July 25, 1633 at Bridekirk, near Cockermouth, his father, Joseph Williamson, being vicar of this place.
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He was born on July 25, 1633 at Bridekirk, near Cockermouth, his father, Joseph Williamson, being vicar of this place.
He was educated at St Bees, at Westminster school and at Queen's College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow, and in 1660 he entered the service of the secretary of state, Sir Edward Nicholas, retaining his position under the succeeding secretary, Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards earl of Arlington.
He entered parliament in 1669, and in 1672 was made one of the clerks of the council and a knight. In 1673 and 1674 he represented his country at the congress of Cologne, and in the latter year he became secretary of state, having practically purchased this position from Arlington for £6000, a sum which he required from his successor when he left office in 1679.
Williamson was elected Member of Parliament for Thetford in 1669 and held the seat until 1685.
Just before his removal he had been arrested on a charge of sharing in the popish plots, but he had been at once released by order of Charles II.
After a period of comparative inactivity Sir Joseph represented England at the congress of Nijmwegen in 1697, and in 1698 he signed the first treaty for the partition of the Spanish monarchy.
In 1690, Williamson was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester and held the seat until 1701. He was also elected MP for Thetford in three separate elections, but each time chose to sit for Rochester instead.
Between 1692 and 1695, Williamson was also MP in the Irish House of Commons for Clare. In 1695 he represented Portarlington for few months and subsequently Limerick City until 1699.
He died at Cobham, Kent, on the 3rd of October 1701.
Williamson was the second president of the Royal Society, but his main interests, after politics, were rather in antiquarian than in scientific matters. Taking advantage of the many opportunities of making money which his official position gave him, he became very rich. He left £6000 and his library to Queen's College, Oxford; £5000 to found a school at Rochester; and £2000 to Thetford.
He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1696, as a tribute to his interest in civic improvements in Dublin. In return he presented the city fathers with a silver cup.
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
Williamson was the second president of the Royal Society, but his main interests, after politics, were rather in antiquarian than in scientific matters.
His marriage, at the beginning of the Popish Plot, should on the face of it have strengthened him politically: his wife was Katherine Stewart, Baroness Clifton, daughter of George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny, and sister of Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, of a junior branch of the Stuart dynasty.
