Person    | Male  Born 4/6/1738  Died 29/1/1820

King George III

Born in St James's Square (not the public garden, one of the houses, obviously). Crowned in 1760, the first monarch since Queen Anne to be truly British. It was during his rule that many of the American colonies were lost in the American Revolutionary War. Later in life suffered from an intermittent mental illness which made him eventually too mad to rule and his eldest son ruled as Prince Regent, becoming George IV on his father's death, at Windsor. His consort was Queen Charlotte. In recent years the accepted diagnosis has been manic depression.

George III was a strong supporter of Eton College (his local school) and, in return, the school made the King's birthday a holiday and the 'Fourth of June' became a traditional day of festivities even though it is seldom celebrated on June 4.

Journal of the American Revolution describes the toppling of a Manhattan statue of George III in 1776. This had been erected only about 10 years previously but when the States declared their independence a group of New Yorkers celebrated by pulling it down.  A 2021 meme: "After hearing a reading of the newly adopted Declaration of Independence, New Yorkers "Destroy History" by toppling a statue of King George III. And that's why no one knows who won the American Revolution.”

Invested in and was governor of the South Sea company whose trade was slavery. During the campaign to end the slave trade George supported neither side, which, given his position, was helpful to those in favour of retention.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
King George III

Commemorated ati

Duke of York's column

Bronze statue by Westmacott of "The Grand Old Duke of York" of nursery rhyme ...

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General Roy's cannon - south

The cannon was installed in 1791 by Mudge. The plaque came later in 1926. Fr...

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George III at Trinity House

This building was erected during his reign.

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George III in Cockspur Street

Considered to be Wyatt's best work.

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George III with the River god

Bronze statue erected in 1789 showing the king who had commissioned the rebui...

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Show all 16

Other Subjects

Mary Prince

Mary Prince

First African woman to publish her memoirs of slavery. Born Bermuda.  The daughter of slaves, she was first sold aged 10 for £20. Eventually bought for $300 in 1818 by John Wood who moved his whole...

Person, Literature, Race Issues, Antigua, Bermuda

1 memorial
Bishop Beilby Porteus

Bishop Beilby Porteus

Born York. Bishop of London 1787 - 1809. The first senior church official to support the abolition of slavery. Died at Fulham Palace.

Person, Race Issues, Religion

1 memorial
Amy Garvey

Amy Garvey

Campaigner for gender and social justice. Born in Jamaica.  1914 met Garvey, joined the Universal Negro Improvement Association and became a Pan-Africanist campaigner.  Moved to the US in 1918 wher...

Person, Gender Issues, Race Issues, Social Welfare, Jamaica, USA

1 memorial
Francis Barber

Francis Barber

Born in Jamaica circa 1742/3 with the name 'Quashey' (a common name for male slaves). He was brought to England by his owner, Colonel Richard Bathhurst, and was sent to school in Yorkshire and then...

Person, Friend / family, Race Issues, Caribbean Islands

1 memorial
Black British Heritage

Black British Heritage

They have an address at 182 Hammersmith Road, but the only website we can find (Dec 2011) is in Japanese.  Something fishy going on.

Group, History, Race Issues

1 memorial