Lieutenant-General Hon. George Boscawen (1 December 1712 – 3 May 1775) was a British Army officer and politician, the fourth son of

Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth (pronounced "Boscowen") ( ; ca. 1680 – 25 October 1734), was an English people, English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons for P ...

. Believed to have been educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, he was commissioned as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the First Foot Guards in 1728, and promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1738. He saw active service during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, distinguishing himself at the battles of Fontenoy and Dettingen. On 3 February 1743, he was married to Ann Trevor, the daughter of John Morley Trevor. The couple would go on to have two sons, politician George Boscawen and author William Boscawen; and two daughters. Shortly after his marriage, on 22 February, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Penryn, following the decision of

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' E ...

(who had been simultaneously elected for three different constituencies) to take up his seat at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

on 18 August 1749, and appointed as Aide-de-camp to King George II on 14 October the same year. In 1750 he was made Lieutenant-Governor of the

Scilly Isles The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point, and has the souther ...

, a post he would occupy until his death. On 4 March 1752 he was named colonel of the

29th Regiment of Foot The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire R ...

and led that regiment during a lengthy posting to Ireland. He was promoted to the rank of major general on 14 January 1758, and to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 22 February 1760. On 16 January 1761, he was transferred to become colonel of the

23rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

. In the general election of 1761, he stood down at Penryn and was elected, on 1 April 1761, to represent

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

instead. This constituency was controlled by his brother, Lord Falmouth, and generally returned members of the Boscawen family. Boscawen would sit for Truro until the election of 1774, when he would leave parliament to be replaced by his son

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

. During his 31-year parliamentary career, he only once voted against the government of the day – voting against the Cider Act in 1764 – and waited until 1770 to make his only recorded contribution to a debate. Boscawen died in York Street, St James's, London, in 1775.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boscawen, George 1712 births 1775 deaths People educated at Eton College British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Grenadier Guards officers Royal Welch Fusiliers officers 29th Regiment of Foot officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Penryn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Truro Younger sons of viscounts Boscawen family