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George Cartwright, soldier, diarist, entrepreneur (b at Marnham, Eng 12 Feb 1739 or 1740; d at Mansfield, Eng 19 May 1819). Cartwright entered the British army at 16, serving in India, Ireland, Minorca and Germany, and in 1769 he went on half pay.
Cartwright, George
George Cartwright, soldier, diarist, entrepreneur (b at Marnham, Eng 12 Feb 1739 or 1740; d at Mansfield, Eng 19 May 1819). Cartwright entered the British army at 16, serving in India, Ireland, Minorca and Germany, and in 1769 he went on half pay. His interest in Newfoundland having been aroused by an earlier voyage, he turned Labrador trader, operating coastal posts between Cape Charles and Hamilton Inlet from 1770 to 1786. With his wide-ranging curiosity, Cartwright was a careful student of the native people and natural history of the region. The voluminous Journal of Transactions and Events, During a Residence of Nearly Sixteen Years on the Coast of Labrador (3 vols, 1792) is a singular record of his experiences and observations.
