William King

It is likely that the "Wm. King, of Brighton (Sussex)" named as a co-claimant for compensation pertaining to the Marble Hill estate, Antigua, was William King (17/04/1786 – 19/10/1865), a physician and philanthropist from Brighton. This William King is best known as an early supporter of the co-operative movement. King studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, and then in France in both Paris and Montpellier before returning to Peterhouse, Cambridge, where in 1819 he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine. In 1820 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1821 he married Mary Hooker, with whom he had at least two children, and moved to Brighton. King founded a co-operative store in Brighton, and in May 1828 he started a paper, The Co-operator, to promote his ideas. King died in 1865 and was buried at St Andrew's Church, Hove.

At least four other William Kings lived in Brighton in the 1840s, and the identification of Wm. King of the compensation claim as William King the physician is not definitive.

We are grateful to Colin G. Evans for assistance in compiling this entry.

Parliamentary Papers p. 308; T71/877.

"King, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. King, William; Mercer, Thomas William (1922). Dr. William King and the Co-operator, 1828-1830. Manchester: Co-operative Union.