John Mostyn (British Army officer)

General John Mostyn (c.1709 – 16 February 1779) was a British soldier, MP and colonial administrator.

John Mostyn
Born	c.1709
Died	16 February 1779
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General

He was a younger son of Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.

He joined the army as an Ensign in 1733 and rose to the rank of General in 1772. He served as Groom of the Bedchamber to King George II from 1746 to his death. From 1751 to 1754 he held the colonelcy of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers), from 1754 to 1758 that of the 13th Regiment of Dragoons, from 1758 to 1760 that of the 5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons,[1] from 1760 to 1763 that of the 7th (The Queens Own) Regiment of Dragoons and from 1763 to 1779 that of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards.

Mostyn served as Governor of Menorca for a ten-year period between 1768 and 1778. It was a titular role and Mostyn was not in residence on the island, which meant that his deputy was in effective charge - from 1774 this was James Murray, his eventual successor who was forced to surrender the island in 1782 to a Spanish force.[2]

He died unmarried.

See also

• List of Governors of Menorca

References

1. "5th Royal Irish Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
2. "James Murray". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

Sources

• John Brooke, MOSTYN, John (1709-79). in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790 (1964).

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Henry Finch Lord James Cavendish	Member of Parliament for Malton 1741–1768 With: Henry Finch 1741–61 Savile Finch 1761–68	Succeeded by Savile Finch The Viscount Downe
Military offices
Preceded by William Hargrave	Colonel of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers) 1751–1754	Succeeded by Lord Robert Bertie
Preceded by Hon. Henry Seymour Conway	Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Dragoons 1754–1758	Succeeded by Archibald Douglas
Preceded by The Viscount Molesworth	Colonel of the 5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons 1758–1760	Succeeded by Hon. Joseph Yorke
Preceded by Sir John Cope	Colonel of the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons 1760–1763	Succeeded by Sir George Howard
Preceded by Humphrey Bland	Colonel of the 1st (The King's) Dragoon Guards 1763–1779
Preceded by Sir George Howard	Governor of Menorca 1768–1778	Succeeded by James Murray