William Charles Wentworth IV, was born in Sydney on 8 September 1907.  He was the son of William C Wentworth III and great grandson of the explorer and statesman W C Wentworth.  After education at Edgecliff Preparatory School, Tudor House and the Armidale School, he studied at New College, Oxford University, gaining an MA in Classics, an honours degree in Politics and Economics and an athletic Blue. 

On his return to Australia, Wentworth worked for several months in business and then joined the NSW Public Service.  Following the sacking of the Hon J B Lang in 1932, Wentworth became Publicity Officer to the Nationalist Premier, Bertram Stevens, serving from 1934-1936 as his Economic Consultant and Advisor.  He resigned from the Public Service by 1939, when he published a book on Australian foreign policy entitled 'Demand for Defence'.
 
In 1942 Wentworth joined the AIF as a Private and was commissioned as a Captain later in that year.  He served with the Headquarters of the First Division, AMF from 1941 to 1942, before entering the Reserves in 1942.  After spending some time with the Department of War Organisation of Industry, he stood unsuccessfully as a 'National Government' Independent for the seat of Wentworth in the election of 21 August 1943.  After the war he gained an Honours degree (Third Class) in Economics from the University of Sydney.
 
Wentworth was elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Mackellar in New South Wales at the general election of 10 December 1949.  Despite his earlier opposition to Robert Menzies (CP 54) and the United Australia Party, he had by this time joined its successor, the Liberal Party. 

From 1 March 1950 to 4 April 1968 Wentworth was a member of the House of Representatives Standing Library Committee (CA 729).  He was a member of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs (CA 716) from 29 February 1952 to 2 November 1961.  During 1954 he was a member of the Select Committee appointed to Inquire into and Report on the Hansard of the House of Representatives.  Wentworth was Chairman of the Government Members Committee on Rail Gauge Standardisation in 1956.  In 1960 Wentworth was a member of the Australian delegation to the 15th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  He was a member of the Select Committee on the House of Representatives Accommodation during 1963.  On 15 October 1964 he became the Parliamentary Representative on the Council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (CA 864), holding this position until 20 November 1968.  

Wentworth was appointed as Minister for Social Services (CA 32) on 28 February 1968 (Commonwealth Gazette No 18B, 28 Feb 1968).  At the same time he became a member of the Federal Executive Council (CA 2) and Minister-in-Charge of Aboriginal Affairs under the Prime Minister.  He was the Australian Representative at the International Conference of Ministers Responsible for Social Welfare held in New York in 1968.  Wentworth relinquished his position as Minister-in-Charge of Aboriginal Affairs under the Prime Minister on 31 May 1971.
 
Wentworth retained his seat in Parliament after the elections of December 1972 but as the Liberal Country Party Government was defeated he was replaced as Minister for Social Services (CA 32) by the Hon L H Barnard (CP 94) of the Australian Labor Party on 5 December 1972 (Commonwealth Gazette No 124A, 5 Dec 1972).  From 1 March 1973 Wentworth was a member of the Council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and from 29 May 1973 was a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.  He was a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Library from 18 July 1974.
 
Describing himself as a 'policy in search of a party', on 11 October 1977 Wentworth attacked the economic policies of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser (CP 51) and announced his resignation from the Liberal Party. 

Wentworth retired from the House of Representatives on 10 November 1977.  At the election of 10 December 1977 he stood for the Senate as head of the Australian Independence Party but was not elected. William Wentworth passed away on 15 June 2003.

Agency associated with person unregistered

       1954-       1954: Select Committee appointed to Inquire into a
                         Report on the Hansard of the House of
                         Representatives - Member