Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg

Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg (; 16 August 1748 – 14 November 1785) was a German nobleman, sailor, and soldier.

Early life Duke George Augustus was born in Mirow the youngest child of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and his wife Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. His grandfather Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the founder of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Extract from Observations on the Transit of Venus, a manuscript notebook from the collections of George III, showing George and his brother Ernest among the observers. On 8 September 1761 his sister Charlotte married the King of Great Britain, George III. Following the marriage George Augustus moved to the Kingdom of Great Britain and after learning the English language volunteered to serve in the Royal Navy. He spent two years serving in the Navy before he was forced to leave due to illness brought on by the climate and life at sea. During his time in Great Britain George Augustus became a Doctor of Laws and attended observations of the 1769 Transit of Venus at the King's Observatory in Richmond-upon-Thames.

George Augustus developed a love of Britain and though a firm Protestant himself, he disapproved of the country's discrimination and intolerance of Catholics. He accepted the offer and was made a lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to rank of colonel after a fellow officer complained to Empress Maria Theresa that Duke George Augustus associated with socially inferior officers and that he had forgot that he was a German prince. The Empress who was only concerned if George Augustus had forgotten that he was Lieutenant-Colonel in her service, responded by promoting him to the rank of Colonel after the complaining officer admitted he was a good officer as she was only interested that he did his duty as an officer in her service. boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; 1= 1. Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg 2= 2. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg 3= 3. Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen 4= 4. Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 5= 5. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 6= 6. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 7= 7. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach 8= 8. Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 9= 9. Duchess Marie Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg 10= 10. Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 11= 11. Countess Antonie Sibylle of Barby-Mühlingen 12= 12. Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 13= 13. Countess Sophie of Waldeck 14= 14. George Louis I, Count of Erbach-Erbach 15= 15. Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck-Eisenberg 16= 16. John VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 17= 17. Princess Sophie of Holstein-Gottorp 18= 18. Julius Ernst, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg 19= 19. Countess Maria of East Frisia 20= 20. Anton Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 21= 21. Countess Palatine Marie Magdalene of Birkenfeld 22= 22. Albert Frederick, Count of Barby-Mühlingen 23= 23. Countess Sophie Ursula of Oldenburg 24= 24. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 25= 25. Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg 26= 26. Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck 27= 27. Countess Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Siegen 28= 28. George Albert, Count of Erbach-Erbach 29= 29. Countess Elisabeth Dorothea of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst 30= 30. Philip Dietrich, Count of Waldeck 31= 31. Countess Maria Magdalena of Nassau-Siegen