Torrington, George Byng, Viscount

Torrington, George Byng, Viscount bĭng, tŏrˈĭngtən [key], 1663–1733, British admiral. Early in his career he helped win the support of the navy for William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. After thwarting attempted Jacobite invasions in 1708 and 1715 and defeating a Spanish fleet in the Strait of Messina in 1718, he was raised to the peerage in 1721. He was the father of Admiral John Byng.

See Byng Papers (ed. by B. Tunstall, 3 vol., 1930–33).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish History: Biographies