Sir Herbert William Wrangham Wilberforce (8 February 1864 – 28 March 1941) was a British male

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player. He was vice-president of the

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

from 1911 to 1921 and served as its president from 1921 to 1936. In 1887, he and Patrick Bowes-Lyon won the doubles in Wimbledon. In 1888 they were unable to defend their title when they were beaten in the Challenge Round by

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

and

William Renshaw William Charles Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 12 August 1904) was a British tennis player active during the late 19th century, who was World number 1 male tennis player rankings, ranked world No. 1. He won twelve Grand Slam tennis, Major title ...

. His best singles performance at Wimbledon came in 1886 when he reached the semifinal of the All Comers tournament in which he lost in five sets to compatriot Ernest Lewis. He also reached the quarter-finals of the singles in 1882, 1883 and 1888. Herbert was a brother of physicist Lionel, son of judge

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

, grandson of archdeacon

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and great-grandson of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

. He later served as president and chairman of the

All England Lawn Tennis Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in the 1931 New Year Honours.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Barrister and magistrate

Having studied law at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1888, and practised on the North Eastern Circuit. He was appointed a

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. In 1914 he was appointed to the Metropolitan Bench of Magistrates and in 1926 became Deputy Chairman of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. He retired in 1938.

Politics

A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Wilberforce unsuccessfully contested Hackney North at the 1900 General Election. In 1901 he was elected to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

as a Progressive Party councillor representing St Pancras North. He served a single three-year term on the county council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilberforce, Herbert 1864 births 1941 deaths 19th-century British people 19th-century male tennis players British male tennis players Sportspeople from Kensington Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Herbert Knights Bachelor Members of London County Council Members of the Inner Temple Tennis players from Munich British sportsperson-politicians