George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield ('The Cock of the Rock')
© National Portrait Gallery, London
George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield ('The Cock of the Rock')
published by Samuel William Fores
etching, published 24 May 1786
5 1/4 in. x 4 1/8 in. (133 mm x 106 mm) plate size; 7 1/4 in. x 5 1/2 in. (183 mm x 140 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D16900
Sitterback to top
- George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield (1717-1790), General; defender of Gibraltar. Sitter in 16 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Samuel William Fores (baptised 1761-1838), Printseller and publisher. Artist or producer associated with 119 portraits.
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (the Caracture Ware House, 3 Piccadilly, London)
Events of 1786back to top
Current affairs
Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke instigates impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of Bengal after concerns about the moral standards of the British in India are raised.Prime Minister William Pitt appoints commissioners for the reduction of the national debt and establishes a sinking fund of £1 million a year.
Government approves the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay.
Art and science
Robert Burns publishes Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect bringing him immediate success across the country.Engraver and publisher John Boydell initiates plans for his Shakespeare Gallery in an effort to establish a school of British history painting.
Merchant David Dale establishes New Lanark in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, as a model cotton milling community.
International
General Charles Cornwallis succeeds Warren Hastings as Governor-General in India.Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.
Francisco Goya is appointed court painter to the Spanish king Charles III.
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