William George Turner

Sir William George Turner (1872 – 14 June 1937) was an American-born unionist politician in Northern Ireland, who served as Lord Mayor of Belfast for over five years.

Life

Born in United States,[1] Turner became a fruiterer on the Shankill Road.

He first stood for election to Belfast Corporation in the Cliftonville ward in 1909. Although he was officially an independent Unionist, he had the backing of the local Conservative Party. However, he was defeated by the footballer William Kennedy Gibson.[2] Turner was later successful as an Ulster Unionist Party candidate for the city council. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1923 to 1928; his mayoralty also made him an ex-officio member of the Senate of Northern Ireland.

He was knighted in 1924, while in 1927 he was appointed to the Privy Council of Northern Ireland.[1]

References
  1. 1911 Census of Ireland http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Woodvale/Shankill_Road/179707/
  2. Neal Garnham, Association football and society in pre-partition Ireland, p.157
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