Shirley, William (1694-1771) colonial governor of Massachusetts. Shirley was born in England into a well-connected family. He took up the practice of law, but some unsuccessful financial investments and general dissatisfaction led him to seek a post in a colonial government, and he arrived in Boston in 1731. He replaced the unpopular governor of Massachusetts, Jonathan Belcher, and quickly resolved a banking and credit crisis; he remained a popular governor, especially after the successful Massachusetts-led raid on Fort Louisbourg at Cape Breton, in 1745. He went to Paris to try to negotiate a boundary that would satisfy both Britain and France but found the experience frustrating and returned to Boston in 1753. Shirley was a colonel of a Massachusetts regiment in the French and Indian War (1754-63); and eventually succeeded Gen. Edward Braddock as commander of British forces in North America. When the French succeeded in repulsing the British effort to take Fort Oswego, Shirley was blamed, unfairly, for the defeat and recalled to London. He languished there until he won an appointment as governor of the Bahamas in 1759.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

For more information on William Shirley, visit Britannica.com.

1694–1771, colonial governor in British North America, b. England. He became a lawyer and in 1731 emigrated to Massachusetts. In 1741 he became governor of Massachusetts. He opposed the issuance of more paper money, and in the war with France he promoted the successful expedition (1745) against Louisburg. British specie payments for the expenses of that expedition helped redeem the paper money and stabilize the colony's currency. Shirley led (1755) an unsuccessful expedition against Canada in the French and Indian War and was briefly commander of British forces in America after the death (1755) of Gen. Edward Braddock. He was removed as governor in 1756 but cleared of charges of treason concerning the Canadian expedition. He served (1761–70) as governor of the Bahamas and retired to Roxbury, Mass. His correspondence was edited by C. H. Lincoln (1912).

Bibliography

See biographies by G. A. Wood (1920) and J. A. Schutz (1961).

British colonial administrator who was governor of Massachusetts (1741–1749 and 1753–1756) and commanded British forces in the French and Indian War.

(1694-1771)

1746	Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg. The colonial governor and commander provides a valuable firsthand account of the 1745 battle at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
1758	Memoirs of the Principal Transactions of the Last War Between the English and French in North-America. Shirley's historical account of the war is less revealing and more self-serving than his previous firsthand account, Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg (1746), a vivid, day-to-day chronicle of the 1745 battle at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

shirley bassey	shirley temple
shirley caesar