George Johnstone (Royal Navy officer)

George Johnstone (Royal Navy officer)

George Johnstone (1730 – 1787) was a British naval officer and member of Parliament. George Johnstone was the fourth son of Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Baronet of Westerhall, Dumfries, and his wife Barbara Murray, the oldest sister of the literary patron Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank. He was a younger brother of William Johnstone (later Pulteney).

He began his career at sea in the Merchant Navy, then entered the Royal Navy in 1746. Shortly after his promotion to Lieutenant in 1755, Johnstone was court martialed for "insubordination and disobedience" however, his record of gallantry in combat taken into account, he was given a reprimand in 1757. He was promoted Captain in 1762, and Commodore in 1763.

Appointed colonial governor of West Florida (present day Panhandle west of the Mississippi River) in November 1763, Johnstone would serve in West Florida for four years. During this time, he began a long-term relationship with Martha Ford, by whom he had the following illegitimate issue, all of whom he supported:
*George Lindsay Johnstone (later a member of Parliament)
*James Primrose Johnstone
*Alexander Johnstone
*Sophia Johnstone

He returned to Great Britain in 1767 entering Parliament. He served as MP for Cockermouth, 1768-74; Appleby, 1774-80; Lostwithiel, 1780-84; Ilchester, 1786-87, taking an independent line. During his time in Parliament his conduct was reportedly "his shameless and scurrilous utterances" and in December 1770, after publicly insulting Lord George Germain for "cowardice in battle", he eventually fought Germain in a duel, although ending inconclusively.

Johnstone was a member of the Carlisle Peace Commission during the American Revolution, with which the Second Continental Congress refused to negotiate in 1778, accusing Johnstone of bribery. During his time in America, he met up with his first cousin, Patrick Ferguson.

However, in exchange for politically supporting Lord Sandwich, Johnstone was given command of a naval squadron off the coast of Portugal in May 1779. Patrolling the South Atlantic, Johnstone met with moderate success capturing the French 44-gun frigate "Artois" before successfully defending against Vice Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez at the Battle of Porto Praya off the coast of Praia, Cape Verde on April 16, 1781. Although he planned to attack the Cape of Good Hope, he later decided on returning to England.

In 1782, in Lisbon, Johnstone married Charlotte Dee, by whom he had one son, John Lowther Johnstone (1783-1811). Following the war, Johnstone served as director of the East India Company for two years until his resignation due to poor health (he was suffering from throat cancer) in 1785, when he retired from public life. He died in 1787. His son John later succeeded his uncle William Johnstone Pulteney as 6th Baronet of Westerhall.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • George Johnstone — can refer to several people: *George Johnstone (royal navy) (1730 ndash;1787), British naval officer and member of Parliament *George Johnstone (politician) (1846 ndash;1921), U.S. Representative from South Carolina …   Wikipedia

  • George Johnstone Hope — Infobox Military Person name=Sir George Johnstone Hope lived=6 July, 1767 2 May, 1818 caption= Rear Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope KCB nickname= placeofbirth=Scotland placeofdeath=London allegiance=United Kingdom branch=Royal Navy serviceyears …   Wikipedia

  • Johnstone (surname) — Johnstone is a surname of Scottish origin related to Johnston. It is evidently derived from the Celtic Jonestun, meaning John s land .Sir Walter Scott wrote often of the Johnston/e family. In The Fair Maid of Perth (1828), he used a stanza from… …   Wikipedia

  • William Johnstone Hope — Infobox Military Person name= Sir William Johnstone Hope lived= 16 August 1766 ndash; 2 May 1831 placeofbirth= Finchley, Middlesex placeofdeath= Bath, Somerset caption= nickname= allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom serviceyears=… …   Wikipedia

  • Britannia Royal Naval College — Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Active 1863 (HMS Britannia) – Present Country …   Wikipedia

  • Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland — The Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland (FOSNNI) is a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is based at HM Naval Base Clyde and the holder of the post is the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland with… …   Wikipedia

  • 2000 New Year Honours — The insignia of the Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George: Andrew Wood was awarded the Grand Cross in this Honours list. The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year… …   Wikipedia

  • 1800 — Year [ Calendar in year 1800 (Russia) (full Julian calendar), webpage: [http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/index.html?year=1800 country=20 Julian 1800] (Russia used the Julian calendar until 1919).] of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar …   Wikipedia

  • Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet — Born 16 May 1759 Boston, Massachusetts …   Wikipedia

  • Sir Charles Knowles, 2nd Baronet — Sir Charles Henry Knowles, 2nd Baronet Born 24 August 1754 Kingston, Jamaica Died 28 November 1831 Allegiance United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”