George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington KB PC (born January 27, 1663 in Wrotham , Kent , † January 17, 1733 in London ) was a British admiral and naval hero.
Life
Byng joined the Royal Navy when he was 10 . Five years later he was already a lieutenant. In 1688 he was part of the fleet that was supposed to prevent the Prince of Orange from landing . But he caused the fleet to overflow to this, which contributed significantly to the success of the Glorious Revolution .
In the War of the Spanish Succession , Byng was given command of a ship with which he took part in the capture and destruction of a French fleet in Vigo in 1702 . In 1703 he was appointed rear admiral . The following year he took part in the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Vélez-Málaga , after which he was defeated to the Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath .
In 1706 he became vice admiral and horrified Barcelona . In 1708 Byng became admiral of the Blue Flag and conquered the Balearic island of Menorca with a fleet . He thwarted the projected incursion of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) into Scotland , became Lord of the Admiralty in 1709 and Admiral of the White Flag in 1710.
For Plymouth he had been a member of the House of Commons since 1705 , and in 1717 he was raised to Baronet , of Southill in the County of Bedford . In the same year he foiled an attack by King Charles XII. on England and a little later (1718 to 1720) in the war of the Quadruple Alliance, the actions of Cardinal Alberoni in Sicily against the Kingdom of Naples . On August 11, 1718, in the battle of Cape Passaro , he defeated the Spanish fleet under Admiral Castaneta , which was almost completely conquered. He forced the King of Spain to accept the terms of peace given to him by the Quadruple Alliance .
After his return to England in 1721, King George I made him the honorary post of Rear Admiral of Great Britain. He was also inducted into the Privy Council and made Viscount Torrington and Baron Byng . When George II ascended the throne , Byng became First Lord of the Admiralty . In this post he improved the lot of seafarers, set up a naval officer widow's fund and supported the Greenwich Hospital . He also founded the Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth .
Georg Byng died in London on January 17, 1733. He had a total of 15 children, eleven of them sons. His third eldest son, John Byng, was also an admiral and was shot dead after a court martial that is still controversial today.
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| New title created |
Baronet, of Southill 1717-1733 |
Pattee Byng |
| New title created |
Viscount Torrington 1721-1733 |
Pattee Byng |
| James Berkeley |
First Lord of the Admiralty 1727–1733 |
Charles Wager |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Byng, George, 1st Viscount Torrington |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British admiral |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1663 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wrotham , Kent |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 17, 1733 |
| Place of death | London |