Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg (german: Georg August; 16 August 1748 – 14 November 1785) was a German nobleman, sailor, and soldier.

Early life

Duke George Augustus was born in

Mirow Mirow () is a town in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Name (Etymology) "Mir" in Slavonic languages means "peace" or "glory". The name "Mirow" was derived from "villa mirowe", translating a ...

the youngest child of

Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (23 February 1708 – 5 June 1752) was a member of the Strelitz branch of the House of Mecklenburg. He was the father to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Charlotte, Queen of the United Kingdom ...

and his wife

Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen Duchess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe- Hildburghausen (4 August 1713 – 29 June 1761) was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752–1753 of her husband and brother-in-law of, respectively, th ...

. His grandfather

Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Adolphus Frederick II (19 October 1658 – 12 May 1708), Duke of Mecklenburg, was the first Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning from 1701 until his death. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Biography He was born in ...

was the founder of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. TransitOfVenus1769

On 8 September 1761 his sister

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

married the King of Great Britain,

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Following the marriage George Augustus moved to the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

and after learning the English language volunteered to serve in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. He spent two years serving in the Navy before he was forced to leave due to illness brought on by the climate and life at sea. During his time in Great Britain George Augustus became a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

and attended observations of the

1769 Transit of Venus file:Venus transit symbol.svg, frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a inferior and superior planets, superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence ...

at the

King's Observatory The King's Observatory (called for many years the Kew Observatory) is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical observatory, astronomical and Terrestrial magnetism, terrestrial mag ...

Richmond-upon-Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. George Augustus developed a love of Britain and though a firm

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

himself, he disapproved of the country's discrimination and intolerance of

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Imperial service

After recovering from his illness George Augustus spent some time studying at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

before being invited to enter into the service of the Queen-Empress

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...

. He accepted the offer and was made a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He was promoted to rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

after a fellow officer complained to Empress Maria Theresa that Duke George Augustus associated with socially inferior officers and that he had forgot that he was a German prince. The Empress who was only concerned if George Augustus had forgotten that he was Lieutenant-Colonel in her service, responded by promoting him to the rank of Colonel after the complaining officer admitted he was a good officer as she was only interested that he did his duty as an officer in her service. He continued his rise up the ranks and a short while after being made a colonel he was made 'General of Horse' and was decorated with various honours. In 1780 he was promoted to the rank of

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and was appointed inspector of two

carabinier A carabinier (also sometimes spelled carabineer or carbineer) is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is de ...

regiments. He won the praise of Austrian field marshal

Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon; 13 February 171714 July 1790), was a Baltic German-born Austrian generalisimo and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Grea ...

in 1782 after carrying out army manœuvres in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

with 50,000 infantry and cavalry soldiers. Duke George Augustus never married and died in

Tyrnau Tyrnau () is a former municipality in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Fladnitz an der Teichalm, in the Weiz District Bezirk Weiz ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

at the age of 37. He was buried in Mirow in 1852.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George Augustus of Mecklenburg, Duke House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Royal Navy officers Leiden University alumni People from Mirow 1748 births 1785 deaths Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania