Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet

Sir George Yonge, 5th Bt

Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet, KCB, PC (1731 25 September 1812) was a British Secretary at War (1782–1783 and 1783–1794) and the namesake of Yonge Street, a principal road in Toronto, Canada, which was named in 1793 by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1755 and it became extinct on his death.

Life

Yonge was born in Colyton, Devon, in 1731 (other sources gives 1732[1] ) to Sir William Yonge, 4th Baronet (1693–1751) and his second wife Ann Howard, one of several siblings:[2] Anna, Amelia, Juliana, Sophia, Howard, Louisa, and Charlotte Yonge.

He also had a stepbrother, Walter Yonge from his father's first wife Marry Heathcote. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Leipzig.[3] He married Elizabeth, daughter of Bourchier Cleeve, in 1765, and had no issue.

He also served as Member of Parliament for Honiton from 1754 to 1761 and again from 1763 to 1796. He was elevated to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1782. He acted as Governor of the Cape Colony for a short period from 1799 to 1801.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1784 [4] and invested as a Knight of the Bath in 1788.

Legacy

He was an expert on Roman roads and his name now lives on in the form of Yonge Street, the main arterial road in Toronto. It was built between 1795 and 1796 from Eglinton Avenue to Lake Simcoe. Later the road was extended south to Bloor Street and still later, south to Lake Ontario.

Yonge Mills Road and Townline Road Escott Yonge in Front of Yonge Township in Mallorytown, Ontario are named for him as well.

Death

He died on 25 September 1812 in Hampton Court.[3]

References

Leigh Rayment's list of baronets

  1. Scadding, Henry (January 1878). "Yonge Street and Dundas Street: The Men after whom they were named". The Canadian journal of science, literature and history. 15 (8): 616. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  2. 1 2
  3. "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 2012-02-27.

External links

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Sir William Yonge, Bt
John Heath
Member of Parliament for Honiton
17541761
With: Henry Reginald Courtenay
Succeeded by
Henry Reginald Courtenay
John Duke
Preceded by
Henry Reginald Courtenay
John Duke
Member of Parliament for Honiton
1763–1796
With: John Duke 1763–1768
Brass Crosby 1768–1774
Laurence Cox 1774–1780
Alexander Macleod 1780–1781
Jacob Wilkinson 1781–1784
Sir George Collier 1784–1790
George Templer 1790–1796
Succeeded by
George Chambers
George Shum
Preceded by
George Hardinge
Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn
Member of Parliament for Old Sarum
1799–1801
With: George Hardinge
Succeeded by
George Hardinge
John Horne Tooke
Political offices
Preceded by
Thomas Townshend
Secretary at War
1782–1783
Succeeded by
Richard Fitzpatrick
Preceded by
Richard Fitzpatrick
Secretary at War
1783–1794
Succeeded by
William Windham
Preceded by
The Marquess Townshend
Master of the Mint
1794–1799
Succeeded by
Lord Hawkesbury
Government offices
Preceded by
Francis Dundas, acting
Governor of the Cape Colony
1799–1801
Succeeded by
Francis Dundas, acting
Baronetage of England
Preceded by
William Yonge
Baronet
(of Culliton)
1755–1812
Extinct
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