James Edward Oglethorpe
Oglethorpe, James Edward (16961785), an English army officer and colonizer. Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1733 and governed it until 1743. A philanthropist, he wished to set up a haven for the poor and persecuted.
John Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1733.Oglethorpe, who was born in London, joined the army in 1710. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1722 as a Tory. As chairman of a parliamentary committee investigating debtors' prisons, he called attention to the harsh treatment of debtors. Oglethorpe hoped to find homes in the New World for imprisoned debtors of "good moral character" and for oppressed European Protestants. In 1732 he and several associates received a charter to colonize land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers. The colony, named for King George II, was also to serve as a barrier to Spanish expansion from Florida, and to produce silk and wines for England.
Oglethorpe led the first party of settlers and founded Savannah in 1733. He maintained good relations with Indian tribes. His attempt to capture the Spanish fortress of St. Augustine, Florida, was unsuccessful, but he repulsed a Spanish invasion in 1742. Oglethorpe brought John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield to the colony to provide religious instruction.
Georgia did not immediately prosper. The plan to produce silk and wines failed because the climate was unsuitable for the mulberry trees needed for raising silkworms and for vineyards. Oglethorpe's prohibition of slavery and strong alcoholic spirits proved unpopular.
Because of complaints against his administration, Oglethorpe was recalled to England in 1743 for a court martial. Although the charges against him were dismissed as frivolous, he was not returned to Georgia. He ran for reelection to the House of Commons in 1754 but was defeated; he then retired from public life. In 1765 he was promoted to general. Oglethorpe lived to see Georgia become a state of the United States.