Born in Belfast in 1817, William Ewart was a successful linen manufacturer and MP.

In partnership with his father, Ewart established mills in Belfast which employed over 6,000 people. He represented Irish linen trade interests in a deputation that negotiated a treaty of commerce with France in 1864.

Ewart was a member of the Belfast Corporation for twenty-eight years, acting as a Councillor and alderman for St Anne’s Ward. He was elected in 1878 as a Conservative MP for the Borough of Belfast (and was later returned for the division of Belfast North).

Ewart promoted popular education and assisted in establishing a number of public schools, including St Mary’s National School on the Crumlin Road. He sat on numerous charitable boards, acted as governor to a number of Belfast hospitals and donated to the building of seven churches in the city.

Ewart was created a baronet in 1887. He died on 1 August 1889, aged 72, at his London residence.