George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington (9 September 1812 – 27 April 1884), was a British colonial administrator and courtier.

Family

Torrington was the son of Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington (1768-1831).''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1831 at the age of eighteen. On 19 March 1833 he married Mary Anne, only daughter of

Sir John Astley, 1st Baronet Sir John Dugdale Astley, 1st Baronet (27 June 1778 – 19 January 1842) was an English politician. He was Member of Parliament for Wiltshire from 1820 to 1832, and for North Wiltshire from 1832 to 1835. He was created a baronet, of Everleigh, ...

. Their only daughter, Frances Elizabeth, died on 2 September 1853. Lady Torrington died on 26 January 1885.

Career

In 1847 he was appointed

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

, a post he held until 1850. There he is known for his brutal suppression of the 1848 civil uprising, committing crimes against humanity, which led to his interdiction. He later served as a Permanent

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (withou ...

Albert, Prince Consort Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon du ...

from 1853 to 1859 and to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

from 1859 to 1884. He served as

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the

West Kent Light Infantry The West Kent Militia (Light Infantry from 1853), later the 3rd Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) was an auxiliary regiment raised in Kent in South East England. From its formal creation in 1758 the regiment served in home and col ...

Militia (later the 3rd and 4th Battalions,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

) in the 1850s, was appointed as the regiment's Honorary Colonel in 1869. He was the companion of

Andalusia Molesworth Andalusia Molesworth born Andalusia Carstairs also known as Andalusia Grant; Lady Molesworth and Andalusia West ( – 16 May 1888) was a British singer and society hostess. Life Molesworth did not come from a noble family. She entered the Royal ...

after she became a widow. When she died she left her fortune to Byng's nephew and heir as she was estranged from her ex-husband's family.

Death and burial

He died on 27 April 1884, aged 71 and was buried in the churchyard of

St. Lawrence's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosoph ...

Mereworth Mereworth is a village and civil parish near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The Wateringbury Stream flows through the village and powered a watermill, the site of which now lies within the grounds of Mereworth Castle. Mereworth is pronou ...

, Kent.

Succession

He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his nephew

George Byng, 8th Viscount Torrington George Stanley Byng, 8th Viscount Torrington (29 April 1841 – 20 October 1889), known as George Byng until 1884, was a British Conservative politician. Origins He was the son of Major the Hon. Robert Barlow Palmer Byng (third son of George By ...

References

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *
www.thepeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington, George Byng, 7th Viscount 1812 births 1884 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain Governors of British Ceylon Kent Militia officers George