William Fytche (1716 – 10 August 1753) was an administrator of the English East India Company. He served as President of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in the mid-eighteenth century. He was one of the last administrators before the Battle of Plassey allowed the company to firmly establish its rule in India.

Biography

Fytche was the youngest son of William Fytche, Member of Parliament for , and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Corey of

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

. He became a member of the Calcutta council of merchants in 1746. In 1749 he went to

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. Durin ...

, to take charge of the factory at Cossimbazaar there. He became President (Governor) on 8 January 1752. According to the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'' in 1794, he had been in India for 21 years.

Family

Fytche married Lucia Beard on 25 February 1744 at Fort St George, Madras, where he was before being sent to Bengal. Their daughter Elizabeth was heir also to Fytche's brother Thomas, of Danbury Place, Essex; she married in 1775

Lewis Disney Lewis Disney Fytche (9 October 1738 – 1822), originally Lewis Disney, often known after his marriage as Disney Fytche, was an English radical and landowner. Early life The son of John Disney of Lincoln, he was brother of John Disney the Unita ...

, who then changed his name to Lewis Disney Fytche. Fytche died of dysentery at the age of 35. After Fytche's death Lucia married William McGuire, having a son and a daughter with him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fytche, William 1716 births 1753 deaths Presidents of Bengal English businesspeople Administrators in British India 18th-century British people