Quick Facts
Biography
William Westley Richards (24 November 1789 – January–March 1865) was a British firearms manufacturer and founder of Westley Richards.
Richards was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England to Theophilus Richards and Mary Bingham. He married his first wife, Ann Barlow in 1813. They had six children: Westley, Emma, Caroline, Edward Harding, Ellen, and Mary Anne. William and Ann divorced before 1823.
He married his second wife, Harriett Seale (1793–1865) on 18 January 1823 at St Pancras Old Church, London. He had three children by his second marriage, Charles, George Seale, and William.
William died between January and March 1865 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.
In 1812 he established a gunmaking business in Birmingham, which bears his name and still exists today.