Shirley, William

Shirley, William, 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).

---

Shirley, William

(born Dec. 2, 1694, Preston, Sussex, Eng.—died March 24, 1771, Roxbury, Mass.) American colonial governor. A lawyer in England, he moved to Boston in 1731. He was appointed admiralty judge (1733), king's advocate general (1734), and governor of Massachusetts (1741–49, 1753–56). In King George's War he planned the British capture of Louisbourg (1745). He became commander of British forces in North America (1755) but was dismissed after the failure of his expedition against Fort Niagara. He served as governor of the Bahamas (1761–67).

---

Shirley, William (1694–1771) colonial governor; born in Preston, Sussex, England. He came over to Massachusetts in 1731 and served as judge of admiralty and then advocate general before becoming governor of the colony (1741–56). He took a broad view of Britain's colonial policies, and during the war between Britain and France (1744–48), he was perhaps the chief instigator of the operation that led to the English colonists' capture of the French fortress of Louisburg, Nova Scotia (1745). In 1755 he was named the supreme commander of British forces in North America during the French and Indian War, but after the failure of the Niagara expedition, he was recalled to England (1756). He avoided court-martial and was later named governor of the Bahamas (1761–67).