William Lynch

William Lynch may refer to:

Politicians and lawyers

Sportsmen

William Lynch (Lynch law)

Captain William Lynch (1742–1820) was a man from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, who claimed to be the source of the terms "lynch law" and "lynching". He is not the William Lynch who allegedly made the William Lynch speech in 1712, as the date on this apocryphal speech precedes Lynch's birth by thirty years.

Lynch's Law

The term "Lynch's Law" was used as early as 1782 by a prominent Virginian named Charles Lynch to describe his actions in suppressing a suspected Loyalist uprising in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The suspects were given a summary trial at an informal court; sentences handed down included whipping, property seizure, coerced pledges of allegiance, and conscription into the military. Charles Lynch's extralegal actions were retroactively legitimized by the Virginia General Assembly in 1782.

In 1811, Captain William Lynch claimed that the phrase "Lynch's Law", by then famous, actually came from a 1780 compact signed by him and his neighbours in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to uphold their own brand of law independent of legal authority. The obscurity of the Pittsylvania County compact compared to the well-known actions of Charles Lynch casts doubt on it being the source of the phrase. According to the American National Biography:

Toronto municipal election, 1974

The 1974 Toronto municipal election was held on December 2, 1974 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.

David Crombie was re-elected as Mayor of Toronto, and Mel Lastman was re-elected as Mayor of North York.

Toronto

Mayoral race

Incumbent David Crombie was extremely popular after his first term and faced no serious opposition in winning reelection. White supremacist Don Andrews placed second amongst the also-rans. As a result, the municipal law was changed so that the runner-up in the mayoralty contest no longer had the right to succeed to the mayor's chair should the position become vacant between elections.

City council

There were few major changes on city council. The reform faction remained the largest group on council, but did have a majority. The conservative Old Guard retained their seats as did the small Crombie-led group of moderates that made up the swing vote on council. Most incumbents were reelected with only a handful of exceptions. After failing to win the mayoralty in 1972 Tony O'Donohue returned to city council and successfully ousted New Democrat Archie Chisholm in Ward 2. In the downtown Ward 6 race anti-Spadina Expressway activist Allan Sparrow ousted long serving Old Guard member William Archer.