British Army Major General, Colonial Governor of Virginia. While he only had the title Royal Lieutenant Governor, the nominal colonial governors, George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, and Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, were in England and exercised very little authority. His tenure as governor (1727 to 1749) was characterized by his unusual political effectiveness, including the passage of the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which mandated the inspection and regulation of Virginia's tobacco, the most important crop of the colony. Tobacco planters were required to transport their crop to public warehouses where it was inspected and stored. The Act raised the quality of Virginia's tobacco and reduced fraud, and thereby greatly increasing the demand for Virginia tobacco in Europe. His military accomplishments credentials including fighting under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in his campaigns in the Low Countries and as a colonel of Gooch's American Regiment with Admiral Edward Vernon in his expedition against Cartagena, New Grenada (now in Colombia) as part of the War of Jenkins' Ear. During the King George's War (the third of the four French and Indian Wars) he received an appointment as brigadier general in charge of the army raised to invade Canada but declined. He was made a baronet in 1746 and promoted to the rank of major general in 1747. He left Virginia in 1749 and returned to England where he died at the age of 70. Goochland County, Virginia is named in his honor as is a residence hall at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
British Army Major General, Colonial Governor of Virginia. While he only had the title Royal Lieutenant Governor, the nominal colonial governors, George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, and Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, were in England and exercised very little authority. His tenure as governor (1727 to 1749) was characterized by his unusual political effectiveness, including the passage of the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which mandated the inspection and regulation of Virginia's tobacco, the most important crop of the colony. Tobacco planters were required to transport their crop to public warehouses where it was inspected and stored. The Act raised the quality of Virginia's tobacco and reduced fraud, and thereby greatly increasing the demand for Virginia tobacco in Europe. His military accomplishments credentials including fighting under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in his campaigns in the Low Countries and as a colonel of Gooch's American Regiment with Admiral Edward Vernon in his expedition against Cartagena, New Grenada (now in Colombia) as part of the War of Jenkins' Ear. During the King George's War (the third of the four French and Indian Wars) he received an appointment as brigadier general in charge of the army raised to invade Canada but declined. He was made a baronet in 1746 and promoted to the rank of major general in 1747. He left Virginia in 1749 and returned to England where he died at the age of 70. Goochland County, Virginia is named in his honor as is a residence hall at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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