STAUNTON, SIR GEORGE LEONARD, was descended from an old English family, and was born in Galway, Ireland, on the 19th of April 1737. Having gone to Montpellier, in the south of France, for his health, he studied medicine there, and on his return to London in 1760 commenced writing for periodicals. On setting out for the West Indies in 1762, Dr. Johnson, whose acquaintance he had formed during his short stay in London, wrote him a kind letter, which may still be seen in Boswell's Life. He settled in the West Indies, where he practiced as a physician, and amassed a considerable fortune from his profession and from official situations. Investing this money in estates in the island of Granada, he returned to England in 1770. In 1772 he again went to Granada, where he was chosen attorney-general, and made the acquaintance of Lord Macartney, who became governor of that island in 1774. Staunton lost his property by the capture of Granada by the French, and he returned to England with the governor of the island in 1779. He accompanied Lord Macartney to Madras in 1781, and for his distinguished services while in India he received a pension of £500 per annum from the East India Company, was created a baronet, and received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Oxford. Sir George again accompanied Lord Macartney to China in 1792, as secretary and minister-plenipotentiary, and wrote a very interesting account of China and the Chinese on his return to London. He died in London, January 14, 1801, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.