Thomas Gage (10 March 1718 – 2 April 1787) was the Colonial Governor of Massachusetts under Great Britain from 13 May 1774 to 11 October 1775, succeeding Thomas Hutchinson and preceding John Hancock.
Biography[]
Thomas Gage was born on 10 March 1718 in Firle, Sussex, Great Britain to an aristocratic family. He entered the British Army in 1741 and saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Jacobite rising of 1745 before being posted to North America, where he fought in the French and Indian War alongside George Washington. In 1760, Gage became the military governor of Montreal after its capture from the French and proved to be a competent administrator, leading to him being appointed as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America in 1763 and being sent to replace Thomas Hutchinson as Governor of Massachusetts on 13 May 1774 as the American colonists rioted against the Intolerable Acts. Gage's defeat at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill led to him being dismissed from both posts, and while William Howe replaced him as commander-in-chief, John Hancock would become the Patriots' governor of Massachusetts. He died in Portland Place, London in 1787.
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