William Byrd II
| William Byrd II | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
William Byrd II March 28, 1674 Henrico County, Virginia Colony, English America |
| Died | August 26, 1744 (aged 70) Charles City County, Virginia Colony, British America |
| Nationality | British |
| Education |
Felsted School (classical) Middle Temple (law) |
| Occupation | Planter, statesman, and author |
| Known for | Founder of the City of Richmond |
| Title | Colonel |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Parke, married 1706, died 1715 Maria Taylor, married May 9, 1724 |
| Children | Evelyn, Wilhelmina, Anna Jo, Maria, Jane, William Byrd III |
| Parent(s) | William Byrd I, Mary Horsmanden |
William Byrd II (March 28, 1674 – August 26, 1744) was a British planter and author from Charles City County in colonial Virginia. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia.
Byrd's life showed aspects of both British colonial gentry and an emerging American identity. His education included the classics, apprenticeship with London global business agents, and legal studies. He was admitted to the bar and served for years as Virginia Colony's official agent in London where he opposed increasing the power of royal governors. A member of the Royal Society, he was an early advocate of smallpox inoculation.
Upon his return to Virginia, Byrd expanded his plantation holdings, was elected to the House of Burgesses, and served on Virginia Governor's Council, also known as Virginia's Council of State (the Upper House of the colonial legislature), from 1709 until his death in 1744. He commanded county militias and led surveying expeditions along the Virginia-Carolina border and the Northern Neck. His enterprises included promoting Swiss settlement in mountainous southwest Virginia and iron mining ventures in Germanna and Fredericksburg.
William Byrd II was born in Henrico County, Colony of Virginia, and educated at Felsted School, England, for the law. He was a member of the King's Counsel for 37 years. He returned to the Colony following his schooling and lived in lordly estate on Westover Plantation. Byrd gathered the most valuable library in the Virginia Colony, numbering some 4,000 books. He was the founder of Richmond and provided the land where the city was laid out in 1737. His father, Colonel William Byrd I, came from England to settle in Virginia.
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