Sir George Harnage, 1st Baronet (1767–1836) was an English businessman and a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. He was born George Blackman and changed his name in 1821 so that he could inherit the ancestral home of his wife, Mary (''née'' Harnage).

Career

For many years he was a director of the Bank of England and a West India merchant. Following his bankruptcy on 15November 1823, his sudden appearance in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' "was like a thunderbolt to the mercantile world, where his credit had so long stood unimpeached." His place of business in Chatham Place,

Blackfriars, London Blackfriars is in central London, specifically the south-west corner of the City of London. Blackfriars Priory The name is first visible today in records of 1317 in many orthographies. Friar evolved from la, frater as french: frère has, mea ...

and his "elegant residence" in

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.< ...

, which contained one of the first libraries in London, were both sold. He also lost his plantation, Boarded Hall, on Barbados. There is a painting of Harnage by

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Reynolds, who achieved fame as a brilliant colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his mothe ...

in the

Bank of England Museum The Bank of England Museum, located within the Bank of England in the City of London, is home to a collection of diverse items relating to the history of the Bank and the UK economy from the Bank’s foundation in 1694 to the present day. The ...

, London.

Family

Harnage was the son of John Lucie Blackman (d. 1797) a plantation owner in the West Indies and Mary Harnage. Her father, Henry Harnage (1739-1826) of Belswardyne in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

had served as major of the 62nd Foot Regiment, under General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

and was severely wounded at the

Battle of Freeman's Farm The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

on 19September 1777 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Issue

His son, John Lucie Blackman, was killed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

on 18June 1815 while his eldest son

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

became a commander 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 ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and inherited his father's title. The third son, Henry (b. 7 November 1794) took holy orders while a fourth, Edward, was born on 18October 1798.

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnage, Sir George, 1st Baronet 1767 births 1836 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

Career

Family

Issue

See also

References