William H. Gates, Sr.
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William Henry Gates, Sr. (born 1925) is an attorney and the co-chair and CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His son, William Henry Gates III, is the co-founder of Microsoft and the wealthiest person in the world. Note: Gates, Sr. was born William Henry Gates, Jr. since his father was also named William Henry Gates. In fact his grandfather also had this name, so the man now known as William H. Gates Sr. is the third in succession by this name, and his son who became famous as William H. Gates III is the fourth. However, only two are living, and the elder of them is known as Sr. to differentiate him from his more famous son.
Gates was born in Bremerton, Washington, and enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduation from high school. He served in the army and fought in World War II. In November of 1946 he was honorably discharged from the army, and he enrolled in the University of Washington (UW) under the G.I. Bill, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in 1949 and a law degree in 1950. He married Mary Maxwell Gates, whom he met at UW, and who died in 1994. With her he had three children, Kristi, Bill, and Libby. In 1996 Gates married Mimi Gardner Gates, who is director of the Seattle Art Museum. He practiced law until 1998, primarily with the law firm now known as Preston Gates & Ellis (PGE), which he co-founded as Shidler & King in 1964.
In 1998, Gates retired from PGE. He currently serves on the Board of Regents for the University of Washington, and runs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates is coauthor, with Chuck Collins, of the book "Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes", a defense of the estate tax.
- A member of the Boy Scouts of America he became an Eagle Scout, January 13, 1941
- University of Washington Law School Distinguished Alumnus, 1991
- Recipient of the American Judicature Society Herbert Harley Award, 1992
- Served on the Board for Judicial Administration, Washington State Supreme Court, 1993-1995
- President of the Washington State Bar Association, 1986-1987
- Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2003
- Has a building William H. Gates Hall at the University of Washington Law School named for him, 2003
- Public Education Foundation speaker at Edmonds-Woodway, 2004
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