William Byrd II

William Byrd II (March 28, 1674 – August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor and writer. Born in the English colony of Virginia, Byrd was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, Byrd returned to Virginia in 1705. He served as a member of the Virginia Governor's Council from 1709 to 1744. Byrd was also the House of Burgesses's colonial agent in London during the 1720s. His life reflected aspects of both the British colonial gentry and an emerging American identity.

Quotes

The new proprietors [of New Jersey] inveigled many over by this tempting account of the country: that it was a place free from those three great scourges of mankind—priests, lawyers, and physicians. Nor did they tell a word of a lie, for the people were as yet too poor to maintain these learned gentlemen.
- The History of the Dividing Line betwixt Virginia and North Carolina (wr. 1728–36; pub. 1841); reported in Daniel J. Boorstin, "The Therapy of Distance", American Heritage, vol. 27, no. 4 (June, 1976), p. 23