The Lord Fairfax of Cameron | |
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Born | 22 October 1693 Leeds Castle, Kent, England |
Died | 9 December 1781 Greenway Court, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 88)
Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
Parent(s) | Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Catherine Colepeper |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Great Britain (1721–1733) |
Service/ | British Army (1721–1733) |
Unit | Royal Regiment of Horse Guards |
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 1693 – 9 December 1781) was a British peer, military officer and planter. The only member of the British peerage to reside in Britain's North American colonies, Fairfax owned the Northern Neck Proprietary in the Colony of Virginia, where he spent the majority of his life. The proprietary had been granted to Fairfax's ancestor John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper by Charles II of England in 1649.
On his Virginian estates, Fairfax developed a profitable operation based on the forced labour of several hundred Black slaves. A steadfast Loyalist during the American Revolution, he was largely protected from the loss of his property due to Fairfax's friendship with George Washington. Several places in Northern Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia are named for him, including Fairfax County, Virginia and the City of Fairfax.[1]