Alexander Wynch (1721 – 1781) was an English merchant, a career civil servant of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

who became

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

Life

He travelled to India at a young age and began to work, unpaid, for the East India Company at 13. Wynch became governor of Madras in 1773. He was removed as governor in 1775, in the wake of his handling of the affair of

Thuljaji Thuljaji Bhonsle (Marathi: तुळजाजी, also known as Tullasu Rasa) (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap singh and the ruler of Thanjavur Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite ...

, the Rajah of Thanjavur (Tanjore), who in fighting in south India had been dispossessed by

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...

, the

Nawab of Arcot The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

. The company disapproved of the change in the previous policy of ensuring the Rajah and Nawab were bound by treaty. Wynch was replaced in 1775 by

George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot (4 March 1719 – 11 May 1777) was twice the British President of the British East India Company. Life Pigot was the eldest son of Richard Pigot of Westminster, by his wife Frances, daughter of Peter Goode, a Hug ...

, governor some years before, who was sent out from England. In England, Wynch lived in

Upper Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.

in London, and then Gifford Lodge in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. He died at

Westhorpe House Westhorpe House is a Grade II listed building near Little Marlow which was the home of Maria Nugent and Field marshal Sir George Nugent. The Main House is and the Coach House is . History The house was built for James Chase MP in the classic ...

Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to the Manor House. The original ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

.Twickenham Museum, ''Gifford Lodge''.
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Family

Wynch was twice married, and had children by both marriages. His first wife was Sophia, daughter of Edward Croke and sister of Begum Johnson. His second wife was Florentia Cradock, whom he married in 1755. He was father of George Wynch, and so grandfather of

Florentia Sale Florentia Sale (née Wynch; 13 August 1790 – 6 July 1853) was an Englishwoman who travelled the world while married to her husband, Sir Robert Henry Sale, a British army officer. She was dubbed "the Grenadier in Petticoats" for her travels w ...

, wife of

Robert Henry Sale Major-General Sir Robert Henry Sale (19 September 1782 – 21 December 1845) was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Biography ...

. His daughter Frances became notorious when she eloped with Sir William Jervis Twysden, 7th Baronet.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynch, Alexander 1721 births 1781 deaths English merchants Governors of Madras