William McArthur (Lord Mayor of London) William McArthur (Lord Mayor of London) Sir William McArthur, (6 July 1809 – 16 November 1887) was an Irish businessman and Lord Mayor of London, and a Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1885. McArthur was born at Malin, County Donegal, the son of Rev. John McArthur, a Methodist minister in Londonderry. In 1821 he was apprenticed to a woollen draper in Enniskillen. He moved to Lurgan in 1825 where he was a merchant and in 1831 established a drapery business in Derry initially in a partnership, but later on his own. In
William McArthur (Lord Mayor of London) Pontefract. From 1867 to 1868 he was Sheriff of London and Middlesex. At the 1868 general election McArthur was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Lambeth, and held the seat until borough was divided under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. He was elected an alderman of London for Coleman Street in 1872 and became Lord Mayor of London in 1880. He was one of the founders of the London Chamber of Commerce in 1881 and was made KCMG in 1882. At the 1885 general election, McArthur stood as an Independent Liberal candidate in the new Newington West,