William Byrd II

William Byrd II was born in Henrico County, Virginia, and educated at Felsted School, England, for the law. He was a member of the King's Counsel for 37 years. He returned to the Colony following his schooling in England, lived in lordly estate on his plantation, Westover Plantation, and gathered the most valuable library in the Virginia Colony, numbering some 4000 books. He was the founder of Richmond and provided the land where the city was laid out in 1737. His father, Colonel William Byrd I, came from England to settle in Virginia.

William Byrd II was a fellow of the Royal Society of Great Britain. He was the author of the Westover Manuscripts, published in 1841 under three titles, The History of the Dividing Line, A Journey to the Land of Eden, and A Progress to the Mines, and most famously, The Secret Diaries of William Byrd of Westover, all remarkable for their style, wit, keen observation, and intrinsic interest to all. His writings have been published in later editions.

Byrd's son, William Byrd III, inherited his family land but chose to fight in the French and Indian War rather than spend much time in Richmond. After he squandered the Byrd fortune, Byrd III parceled up the family estate and sold lots of 100 acres (0.40 km2) in 1768.

Byrd Park in Richmond is named for William Byrd II.

Byrd II had notable descendents in the 20th century. Those are naval officer, pioneering aviator and explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd, for whom Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field (the original name for Richmond International Airport) was named. There is also Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd and U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd Jr., also of Virginia.

William Byrd II died on 26 August 1744 and was buried at Westover Plantation, Virginia, British America.