George (Division of the W province)

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a division of the W. province of Cape Colony, on the S. coast, E. of Cape Town. It contains 2,600 square miles. It is valuable chi chiefly for its pasturage and its timber. The town of George stands 6 miles N. of the coast, and has a population of over 2,000. On the coast is the port of Mossel Bay. GEORGE I., King of England; born in Hanover, March 28, 1660. He was son of Ernest I., first Elector of Hanover, and of the Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I., King of England, and succeeded his father in the electorate, in 1698. On the death of Queen Anne, in 1714, he was called to the throne of England, and this was the beginning of the English dynasty of Brunswick. He gave his support to the Whigs, and was prudently neutral as regarded the Continental wars of his time, yet he joined the Triple Alliance of 1717 and the Quadruple Alliance of 1718 against Spain. He had as premier Sir Robert Walpole, whose genius repressed all attempts at disorder, and nullified the efforts of the so-called Pretender, James III. Unfortunate in his family relations, George was obliged to divorce his wife, Sophia of Zell, charged with an intrigue, and imprison her in the castle of Ahlen, where she ended her days in 1726, after a confinement of 32 years. He died in Osnabrück, June 11, 1727. GEORGE II., King of England, son of the preceding; born in Hanover, Nov. 10, 1683. He succeeded his father in 1727. He retained as his prime minister Sir Robert Walpole, who preserved the country from war during the first 12 years of his reign. In the war of the Austrian Succession he declared himself on the side of the Empress Maria Theresa, and against France. His armies, successful at Dettingen (1743), failed signally at Fontenoy (1745) and at Laffeld (1747), but the campaign was closed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). Meantime, however, his throne had been strengthened by the victory of Culloden, gained over Prince Charles Edward Stuart and his adherents in 1746. War having in 1755 again broken out on the continent of Europe, England experienced fresh reverses in Germany and lost her Hanoverian dominions, but these losses were more than compensated by brilliant and valuable conquests in the East Indies and in America. George was the founder of the British Museum. He died in London, Oct. 25, 1760. GEORGE III., King of England, son of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales; Wa born in London, June 4, 1738. He succeeded his gra grandfather, George II., in 1760. In the early part of his reign he gained brilliant successes over France and Austria in the Seven Years' War, GEORGE III. OF ENGLAND and in 1763 concluded an advantageous peace. In 1764 George Grenville succeeded to Lord Bute as premier, and the American Stamp Act was passed the following year. After a long and fruitless war, the independence of the United States was acknowledged. In 1782 Lord Shelburne was placed at the head of the State, with Mr. Pitt, son of the Earl of Chatham as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1783 the memorable coalition ministry between Mr. Fox and Lord North was formed. To this the king was decidedly hostile; and as soon as Mr. Fox's India bill had been rejected by the Lords, he sent a message to him and Lord North, 288. commanding them immediately to return him their seals of office. On the following day Mr. Pitt became prime minister. In 1789 the king was afflicted with mental aberration, which lasted from the beginning of November till the following February. In 1798 public distress appeared to have reached its climax, and the Irish rebellion broke out. In 1800 the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland was passed; and in order to bring those over who opposed the measure, the ministers allowed a tacit understanding to prevail, that it would be followed by certain political concessions. George, however, could never be persuaded that he could admit the Catholics to political power, without violating the spirit of his coronation oath the consequence of which was the retirement from office of Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in 1801, and the formation of a new ministry, headed by Mr. Addington. Negotiations were now speedily entered into, which led to the treaty of Amiens. When the resumption of hostilities took place in 1803 there was an evident demonstration of public satisfaction throughout all ranks. The Addington administration proved incompetent, and Mr. Pitt, in 1804, again took the helm of State; but he died in 1806, and the Grenville party, which Fox had joined, went into office. In 1807 Lord Grenville and his colleagues attempted to change the king's opinions with regard to Catholic emancipation; but George was inflexible, which led to the ejection of the Fox and Grenville party, and the Perceval administration succeeded them. The death of his youngest child, the Princess Amelia, toward the close of 1810, gave the king a shock that renewed his insanity. He died in Windsor, Jan. 29, 1820. GEORGE IV., King of England; born in London, Aug. 12, 1762. He became London Prince Regent in 1811, and succeeded his father, George George III., in 1820. Though the Whigs, he he had at first declared for for a long time gave himself up to Tory influence, and had as his prime ministers Lord Liverpool and the Duke of Wellington. During his regency occurred the final overthrow of Napoleon. He caused the passage of numerous laws against the liberty of the press, and had incessant troubles in Ireland to put down. In 1823 he again took sides with the Whigs, and selected as premier the celebrated George Canning. In 1829 the bill granting Catholic emancipation was passed. George IV. married, in 1795, the Princess Caroline of Brunswick, whom he afterward caused to be tried before the law courts on a charge of adultery. He died in Windsor, June 26, 1830. GEORGE V. (GEORGE FREDERICK ERNEST ALBERT), King of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British dominions beyond the seas, Emperor of India. He was born in 1865. Following the death of his elder brother he became direct heir to the throne. His choice as a career had been with the navy, which he entered in 1877, studying at Greenwich and becoming, successively, lieutenant, captain, rear-admiral, and vice-admiral. After the death of his brother he became betrothed to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, who had been the fiancée of his brother, and they were married in 1893. Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and the accession of Edward VII., he journeyed round the world, making addresses in the vari- GEORGE V. ous British colonies. He then was officially installed as Prince of Wales, and took the part previously taken by his father in assisting at various public ceremonies and representing the royal family. After the death of Edward VII., in 1910, he became king, taking the name of George V., while his wife took that of Queen Mary. The coronation took place in June, 1911, in Westminster Abbey, but attracted so little public interest that there was much speculation over a saying attributed to Edward VII. that he would be followed by the last king of England. The destruction by a bomb of the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, for- GEORGE I. merly used by the kings of Ireland and Scotland, and for several centuries_underlying the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, about the time of the king's accession, added to the speculation. One of the first important acts of George V. was to visit India, where a durbar was held in 1911. During the World War the rôle played by the king was inconspicuous, and was confined largely to visiting the wounded and appearing in public on patriotic occaave had five sions. The royal couple have er: Edward, Prince sons, and one daughter: of Wales; Albert; Mary; Henry; George, and John (d.) In 1919 the Prince of Wales made a tour of the world, as his father had done previously, and visited the United States. GEORGE I., King of the Hellenes; born in Copenhagen, Dec. 24, 1845. He was second son of the King of Denmark. In 1863 he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly. In 1867 he married the Princess Olga, a niece of the Russian czar. His conduct as a constitutional monarch was always correct and regular, and he won the popular sympathies by the efforts he made on behalf of the expansion of Greek nationality. His children were bred in the Greek faith. He was assassinated in 1913. See GREECE; BALKAN WARS.