George Tilson was a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 civil servant, long-serving Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign Office.

George Tilson was the grandson of Henry Tilson, Bishop of Elphin; his brother Christopher was MP for Cricklade

Cricklade (UK Parliament constituency)

Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire.From 1295 until 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously to the House of Commons of...

. From 1703 to 1706 Tilson was Secretary to the British envoy to Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, Baron Raby. From 1710 until his death in 1738 he was Under-Secretary for the Northern Department

Northern Department

The Northern Department was a department of the government of England and later the Kingdom of Great Britain, responsible for dealing with government business in the northern part of Europe. This included foreign affairs concerning such northern powers as Russia, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire...

, serving under a succession of Tory and Whig Secretaries of State

Secretary of State for the Northern Department

The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...

: Bolingbroke

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...

, William Bromley

William Bromley (Speaker)

Sir William Bromley was an English Tory politician. He was Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1710 to 1713 and Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1713 to 1714....

, Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Bt, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State, directing British foreign policy...

, James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope

Stanhope

-Places:* Stanhope, Victoria, Australia* Stanhope, Prince Edward Island, Canada* Stanhope, Quebec, Canada* Stanhope, County Durham, England, UK* Stanhope, Kent, England, UK* Stanhope, Peeblesshire, Scotland, UK* Stanhope, Iowa, US* Stanhope, New Jersey, US...

, Sunderland

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Sir Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC , known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman...

 and Lord Carteret

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...

. As Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...

 put it, Tilson's name "often turns up [...] in the [...] extinct Paper-heaps of that time".

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1735.

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