Family Legacy
Shaftesbury's father, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, died in February, 1713 leaving him fatherless in infancy, as well as heir to the family titles and estates. He grew up learning about the achievements of his father and great grandfather and revering his family history. In 1732, he published a new edition of his father's influential work, Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, also known as Shaftesbury’s Characteristics. The book was among the most influential of the British Enlightenment; historian Benjamin Rand described the 3rd Earl as the “greatest Stoic of modern times.”
Shaftesbury also commissioned a biography of his great-grandfather, and retained Benjamin Martyn for the project. He had become well acquainted with Martyn, Secretary to the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America when he became a member of that organization at its first annual meeting in 1733.
Read more about this topic: Anthony Ashley Cooper, 4th Earl Of Shaftesbury
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