George Downing

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Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet

Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet (born August 1623 in Dublin , Ireland , † July 1684 in Cambridgeshire , England ) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat.

Life

He was the son of Emanuel Downing (1585-1660), a barrister from London . George Downing was born in Dublin and later lived in New England , where he graduated from Harvard University as its second graduate. After returning to Europe in 1645, he first served in Oliver Cromwell's army in Scotland and fought in the battles at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651). Through the protection of Cromwell and his brother-in-law Charles Howard , the future Earl of Carlisle , whose sister Frances Howard he married in 1654, he quickly gained political influence and, as a member of parliament, was one of those who suggested Cromwell to accept the royal dignity.

From 1654 to 1656 he was an MP for Edinburgh in the Scottish Parliament . From 1656 to 1660 as MP for Carlisle and from 1660 to 1684 for Morpeth he was a member of the English House of Commons . During the restoration of the Stuart monarchy he kept his function as Teller of the Receipt in the Treasury (English Exchequer), which he had held since 1656, as well as his post as envoy in the Netherlands, which he had held since 1657, and was appointed to the Baronetage on July 1, 1663 of England the hereditary dignity of baronet , of East Hatley in the County of Cambridge. As a finance and trade expert, he created important prerequisites for the later founding of the Bank of England in the 1890s through reforms in the area of ​​public finances .

He died in Cambridgeshire in July 1684. He left three sons and four daughters.

The Downing Street , which today houses the seat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as well as the Chancellor of the Exchequer is (Engl. Chancellor of the Exchequer), is named after him.

Samuel Pepys , who became a chronicler of the Restoration period through his notes and was in Downing's service from 1656 to 1660, mentions him in numerous places in his famous diary.

swell

  • Samuel Pepys: The Diaries 1660–1669 . Edited by Gerd Haffmans and Heiko Arntz, trans. by Georg Deggerich u. a. 9 volumes and an accompanying volume. Haffmans Verlag bei Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt 2010, ISBN 978-3-942048-18-7 .

Web links

Wikisource: Diary of Pepys  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Downing, Sir George. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago 2009.
  2. ^ The Diary of Samuel Pepys - A New and Complete Transcription , 11 volumes; edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews. Bell & Hyman, London 1970-1983, Volume 10 Companion, p. 96.
  3. ↑ The Samuel Pepys Companion - Supplement to the first complete German edition of the diaries in 9 volumes; Haffmans Verlag bei Zweausendeins, 1st edition, Berlin 2010, p. 79.
  4. ↑ George Edward Cokayne (Ed.): The Complete Baronetage. Alan Sutton Publishing, Gloucester 1983, Vol. 4, p. 207.
  5. ↑ Baronetage: DOWNING of East Hatley, Cambs at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
  6. ^ Claire Tomalin: Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self. Viking / Penguin, London 2002, p. 118
  7. ↑ a b The Diary of Samuel Pepys - A New and Complete Transcription , 11 volumes; edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews. Bell & Hyman, London 1970-1983, Volume 10 Companion, p. 97.
  8. ↑ George Downing in The Diary of Samuel Pepys
predecessor title successor
New title created Baronet, of East Hatley
1663-1684 		George Downing
personal data
SURNAME Downing, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Downing, Sir George, 1st Baronet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soldier, politician and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH August 1623
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH July 1684
Place of death Cambridgeshire , England