Rev. James William Williams was born on September 15, 1825, in Overton, Hampshire, England.
He was a Canadian Church of England priest, bishop, and educator. He graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford University (M.A. in classics and mathematics, 1852). He was ordained deacon in 1852 and priest in 1855. Williams immigrated to Canada in 1857 and was appointed rector of the Lennoxville grammar school, affiliated with Bishop’s College, Lennoxville. He also served as the chairman of King's Hall, Compton. In 1860, he became a professor at Bishop's College. In 1863, he was appointed the 4th Bishop of Quebec and remained in this position until he died in 1892. Rev. Williams participated vigorously in the development of the Protestant public school system in Quebec and collaborated with Sir Alexander Galt in drawing up Section 93 of the British North American Act (Constitution Act, 1867), which conferred upon Parliament the responsibility of protecting the educational rights of minorities. Many of his sermons and lectures were published.
In 1854, he married Anna Maria Waldron (1821–). He died on April 20, 1892, in Quebec City, Quebec.
John Whitridge Williams was born on January 26, 1866, in Baltimore, Maryland.
He was a pioneering obstetrician and author. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University (B.A., 1886) and University of Maryland School of Medicine (M.D., 1888). He continued his studies in bacteriology and pathology at universities in Vienna and Berlin. Returning to Baltimore in 1889, he joined the newly opened gynaecological‐obstetric department at Johns Hopkins Hospital as a voluntary assistant, helping in both the clinical and pathology departments. In 1892, he was admitted to the American Gynecological Society and in 1893, he was appointed Associate Professor of Midwifery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1894–1895, he again went abroad, studying obstetrics and pathology in Leipzig, Prague, and Paris. Back at Johns Hopkins in 1899, he was promoted to Professor in Obstetrics and obstetrician‐in‐chief at the hospital. In 1903, Williams published his textbook “Obstetrics.” This beautifully illustrated work included some 1100 references from the European literature, mainly from Germany, Austria, and France. The textbook, regarded as a classic, passed through six editions during his lifetime. He also published numerous articles in various medical journals. Williams received honorary degrees from the University of Dublin (ScD., 1912) and the University of Pittsburgh (LL. D, 1915). He also served as honorary president of the Glasgow Gynaecological and Obstetric Society in 1911–12; he presided over the American Gynecological Society in 1914–15, the American Association for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality in 1914–16, and the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland in 1915–16. On the day of his funeral, one of the first Honorary Fellowships granted by the British College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology was conferred on him.
In 1891, he married Margaretta Steward Browne (1865–1929), and in 1930, he remarried Caroline Theobald Pennington, his long-timed valued laboratory assistant. He died on October 21, 1931, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Henry Shaler Williams was born on March 6, 1847, in Ithaca, New York.
He was a geologist and educator. He graduated from Yale University in 1868. He also studied with Louis Agassiz at Cornell University and was granted a Ph.D. degree in 1871. He became Professor of Natural History at the University of Kentucky in 1871. Williams spent the next eight years in business with his father in Ithaca, New York, until joining the Cornell University faculty in 1880. From 1892 to 1904, he was a Sillman Professor of Geology at Yale University and a Professor of Geology at Cornell University from 1904 until 1912, when he was named Emeritus Professor. In 1886, he became a member of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society and, in 1888, he joined the Geological Society of America. His name will always be associated with the development of American paleontology, especially with the American Devonian. He was credited with naming the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sub-periods in 1891. His research work in Cuba resulted in the development of oil fields on the island. As a teacher, Williams exercised a great influence in the encouragement of his students in research. He was also the author of numerous works on geology.
In 1871, he married Harriet Hart Wilcox (1849–1932). He died on July 31, 1918, in Havana, Cuba.
