Sir George Rooke
17 of 21 portraits by James Cole
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir George Rooke
by James Cole
line engraving, late 18th-early 19th century
13 5/8 in. x 8 in. (347 mm x 204 mm) plate size
Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931
Reference Collection
NPG D31210
Events of 1770back to top
Current affairs
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.Art and science
Oliver Goldsmith publishes his poem The Deserted Village.Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke publishes Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents discussing the limits of the King's authority.
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret.
Thomas Gainsborough paints his portrait of Jonathan Buttall, which later becomes known as The Blue Boy.
International
'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea. However, this concession is soon followed by the Boston Massacre, in which British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, killing five.Captain Cook reaches the eastern coast of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay. He discovers the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs onto it. Cook claims New South Wales for the British.
Comments back to top
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Ken Reedie
23 June 2016, 09:21
This shows the cenotaph to Rooke in St Michael's Chapel (aka the Warriors' Chapel) in Canterbury Cathedral. He was buried in St Paul's Church, Canterbury. Katharine Eustace wrote of the cenotaph: "The Italianate altar-form, pedestal bust under draped curtains, and swagged fruit and flowers in the upper storey, are commonplaces of the period."
Ken Reedie
23 June 2016, 14:20
Perhaps useful to add to my note this morning that this print - as you probably know - is from "The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Canterbury And the Once-Adjoining Monastery...." by the Reverend John Dart. Printed and sold by J Cole Engraver at the Crown in Great Kirby-Street, Hatton Garden.... MDCCXXVI