William Light

Surveyor-General of South Australia who designed Adelaide's street plan in 1836 (1786–1839)
Person human Q2067103
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William Light

Summary

William Light is a human[1]. Born in Kuala Kedah[2], he… he was born on April 27, 1786[3]. He passed away in Adelaide[4]. He died on October 6, 1839[5]. He worked as a draftsperson[6], military officer[7], painter[8], and surveyor[9]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (295 views/month, #7,188 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • William Light was born in Kuala Kedah[2].
  • William Light died in Adelaide[4].
  • William Light was born on April 27, 1786[3].
  • William Light died on October 6, 1839[5].
  • William Light is buried at Light Square[11].
  • William Light's father was Francis Light[12].
  • William Light held citizenship in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland[13].
  • William Light held citizenship in Kingdom of Great Britain[14].
  • William Light worked as a draftsperson[6].
  • William Light worked as a military officer[7].
  • William Light's professions included painter[8].
  • William Light's professions included surveyor[9].
  • William Light held the position of Surveyor-General of South Australia[15].
  • William Light was a member of Street Naming Committee[16].
  • William Light is recorded as male[17].
  • William Light's instance of is recorded as human[18].
  • William Light's military branch is recorded as British Army[19].
  • William Light's Commons category is recorded as William Light[20].
  • William Light's military, police or special rank is recorded as colonel[21].
  • The cause of death was tuberculosis[22].
  • William Light's residence is recorded as Adelaide[23].
  • William Light's residence is recorded as Adelaide[24].
  • William Light was part of the conflict Napoleonic Wars[25].
  • William Light's family name is recorded as Light[26].
  • William Light's given name is recorded as William[27].

Body

Origins and Family

William Light's place of birth was Kuala Kedah[2]. He was born on April 27, 1786[3]. His father was Francis Light[12].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include draftsperson[6], military officer[7], painter[8], and surveyor[9]. William Light held the position of Surveyor-General of South Australia[15].

Death and Burial

William Light died on October 6, 1839[5]. He died in Adelaide[4]. The cause of death was tuberculosis[22]. He is buried at Light Square[11].

Works and Contributions

Things named for William Light include Light River[28], a river[29], in Australia[30].

Why It Matters

William Light ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (295 views/month, #7,188 of 1,000,298).[10] He has Wikipedia articles in 9 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[31] He is known by 9 alternative names across languages and contexts.[32]

Entities named for him include Light River[28], a river[29], in Australia[30].

FAQs

Where was William Light born?

Born in Kuala Kedah[2], William Light…

Where did William Light die?

William Light passed away in Adelaide[4].

Who were William Light's parents?

William Light's father was Francis Light[12].

What did William Light do for work?

William Light worked as draftsperson[6], military officer[7], painter[8], and surveyor[9].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [17] . Virtual International Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] . wikidata.org.
  6. [14] . wikidata.org.
  7. [18] . wikidata.org.
  8. [15] . wikidata.org.
  9. [6] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [7] . wikidata.org.
  11. [8] . wikidata.org.
  12. [9] . wikidata.org.
  13. [11] . wikidata.org.
  14. [19] . wikidata.org.
  15. [20] . wikidata.org.
  16. [21] . wikidata.org.
  17. [16] . wikidata.org.
  18. [22] . wikidata.org.
  19. [23] . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] . wikidata.org.
  21. [3] . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [5] . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [28] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [31] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [32] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William Light. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-light
MLA “William Light.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-light.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-light_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William Light}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-light}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William Light — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-light (retrieved 2026-04-10)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-light · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 1d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation draftsperson, military officer, painter +1
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32080|batch #32080]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (22)"
  2. 15d ago · Arch2bot bot · 2026-05-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Residence Adelaide, Adelaide
    Described by source Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, BEIC Digital Library
    Sex or gender male
    Military branch British Army
    + 26 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetreference-add:2| */ [[Property:P106]]: [[Q1028181]], Add archINFORM reference"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.