George Selwyn

Although he never visited Charlotte, this English landowner was important to the founding and settling of the Queen City. George Selwyn (1719-1791) attended prestigious Eton College and Oxford. Selwyn entered Parliament, Britain's lawmaking body, in 1747. Although he served until 1780, his career as a legislator was unremarkable.

 When both his father and brother died in 1751, Selwyn inherited the land in the Carolina colony that the Crown had given to his father. Mecklenburg County and the county seat of Charlotte would be formed from Selwyn's lands. A member of the royal Council and three prominent local leaders were appointed trustees to oversee the establishment of a courthouse and jail. In a 1767 survey, it was estimated that there were over 200,000 acres in the Selwyn Grant.

In British portraits, Lord Selwyn appears outfitted in elegant style. He never married, but adopted one daughter.