I. Jeffery, baron, an English general, born in Kent, Jan. 29, 1717, died Aug. 3, 1797. He entered the army at the age of 14, was present at Dettingen and Fontenoy on the staff of Gen. Ligonier, and in 1758 was sent to America with the rank of major general. In conjunction with Wolfe and Prideaux, he made the entire conquest of the French strongholds in Canada, for which he received the thanks of the house of commons and the order of the Bath. He was soon afterward appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. In 1763 he was appointed governor of Virginia, and in 1770 governor of the island of Guernsey. He was commander-in-chief of the army 1772-'82, and again 1793-'5, when he was superseded by the duke of York, and was soon afterward made a field marshal. In 1776 he was elevated to the peerage, with the title of Baron Amherst of Holmesdale; and in 1787 he received a patent as Baron Amherst of Montreal.

II. William Pitt, earl, and Viscount Holmesdale, a British statesman, nephew of the preceding, born Jan. 14, 1773, died March 13, 1857. He was British ambassador in China, and succeeded Hastings as governor general of India (1823-'7). Under his administration the Burman war resulted in an important accession of British territory, and his services were rewarded with an earldom in 1826.