William Riker

William Thomas Riker is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe played by Jonathan Frakes, who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and all the movies focussing on the TNG characters.

Riker was born to Kyle Riker and an as-of-yet unknown woman in Valdez, Alaska, Earth in 2335. In 2350, the elder Riker abandoned his son; his wife had died some years before. William resented his father for this and the two did not speak again until 2365, fifteen years later.

Riker entered Starfleet Academy c. 2353 and graduated in 2357. Among the earliest assignments of his career were on the USS Potemkin, on the planet Betazed, where he met Deanna Troi, and on the USS Hood. Seven years after graduation, 2364, he had been promoted to the rank of commander and was reassigned to the Enterprise, the Federation flagship of that time, where he served as first officer under Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Following the destruction of the Enterprise-D in 2371, Riker was reassigned to the Enterprise-E, where he again was Picard's first officer.

In 2379, having previously turned down several promotions in order to continue serving with Picard, Riker became captain of the USS Titan. In the same year, he also married Deanna Troi.

Referenced By