William Garrard

Sir William Garrard (1507–1571), also Garrett, Gerrarde, etc., was a Tudor magnate of London, a merchant citizen in the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, who became alderman, Sheriff (1552–1553) and Lord Mayor of London (1555–1556) and was returned as an MP for the City of London. He was a senior founding officer of the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands (The Muscovy Company) in 1554/55, having been involved in its enterprises since the beginnings in King Edward VI's time, and for the last decade of his life was one of its permanent governors. He worked hard and invested largely to expand English overseas trade not only to Russia and the Levant but also to the Barbary Coast and to West Africa and Guinea.

In his late years Garrard and his Company or Society of Adventurers promoted mercantile trading expeditions to Guinea. Under the command entrusted to John Hawkins the expedition of 1567–1568 became the infamous (and disastrous) third slaving voyage to the West Indies. Garrard is also remembered for his labours on behalf of the London hospitals and for his efforts in practical help for poor and sick inhabitants of London. John Stow called him "a grave, sober, wise and discreete cittizen, equal with the best, and inferior to none of our time." Provided by Wikipedia