William Byrd II

Who was William Byrd II?

Colonel William Byrd II was a planter, slave-owner and author from Charles City County, Virginia. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia.

Byrd's life showed aspects of both British colonial gentry and an emerging American identity. His education included classics, apprenticeship with London global business agents, and legal studies. He was admitted to the bar and served for years as Virginia's official agent in London where he opposed increasing power of royal governors. A member of the Royal Society, he was an early advocate of smallpox inoculation.

On his return to Virginia, he expanded his plantation holdings, was elected to the House of Burgesses, and served on Virginia Governor's Council, also known as Virginia's Council of State, from 1709 until his death in 1744. He commanded local County militias, and led surveying expeditions along the Virginia-Carolina border and the Northern Neck. His enterprises included promoting Swiss settlement in mountainous southwest Virginia and iron mining ventures in Germanna and Fredericksburg, Virginia.