Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Drake, William Richard
DRAKE, Sir William Richard, F.S.A., born in 1817, was brought up to the legal profession, and has practised for many years as an attorney in Westminster. He was appointed Treasurer of County Courts in 1862. In 1867 he was created by the King of Italy a Commander of the Order of St. Maurizio and St. Lazzaro; in 1868 the Sultan conferred on him the (second-class) Order of the Medjidie; and the Emperor of Austria has also bestowed upon him the Order of Knighthood of the Iron Crown. On Sept. 6, 1869, he was knighted at the instance of Mr. Gladstone, as a personal recognition of the services rendered to the Liberal party by Mr. Drake during the several years of close and confidential relations which had existed between him and its recognized representatives. His "Notes on Venetian Ceramics," and his contributions to art literature and archæological literature, have made him known to the more retired class of students and scholars.