George Clinton (colonial governor)

George Clinton (* 1686 in England ; † July 10, 1761 ibid) was a British naval officer and from 1743 to 1753 British governor of the province of New York .

Life

George Clinton's birthplace is given differently in the sources. Once the place Stourton Parva in Lincolnshire and elsewhere Oxfordshire is mentioned as the place of birth. He was a younger son of Francis Clinton , 6th Earl of Lincoln , from his second marriage to Susanna Penyston. From 1708 he served in the Royal Navy . Through the influence of his brother-in-law Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , he was able to rise quickly there. As early as 1716 he received the captain's license. From 1720 to 1722 he commanded British ships in the Baltic Sea . After a four-year hiatus, he was deployed in the Mediterranean in 1726 , where he gave escort to British merchant ships, among other things. In 1732 he was promoted to Commodore . In the same year he commanded a British ship convoy to the British Newfoundland Colony . At that time he was also the colonial governor of this colony for a short time.

In the further 1730s, George Clinton was deployed in various European waters. In 1737 he became commander of the British Mediterranean fleet. Around 1740 he got into financial difficulties. His brother-in-law helped him again by getting him the post of colonial governor of the province of New York . Although the appointment was made in 1741, Clinton did not arrive there until September 1743. He was to hold this office until 1753. During this time he rose to admiral in the Royal Navy . In New York, the new governor initially relies on James De Lancey , the Colony's chief judge. In 1746 a political dispute broke out in the colony. It was about a campaign against French Canada ordered by London. The governor wanted to carry out the instructions, but met resistance from many colonists, especially the local merchants and the liberal party. De Lancey, who from 1746 was now a staunch opponent of the governor, had also joined this opposition. It all happened against the backdrop of King George's Wars . After the end of this war, the internal political clashes with the party led by De Lancey continued. In October 1753, Governor Clinton resigned. He was replaced by Danvers Osborn .

He returned to England and was a member of the British Parliament from 1754 until his death in 1761. Since 1757 he was as Admiral of the Fleet also Commander-in-Chief of the British fleet. He also held this office until his death on July 10, 1761. His son Henry (1738–1795) was a British general during the American War of Independence .

Web links

• Clinton in the Dictionary of Canadian Biopgraphy
• Clinton at Info Please
• Admiral George Clinton on thepeerage.com