Byng, John
Byng, John,
1704-57, British admiral; son of George Byng, Viscount
Torrington. Sent (1756) to prevent the French from taking
Minorca, he arrived when the island was already under siege
and, after an indecisive naval engagement, withdrew without
relieving the siege. His court-martial and execution for "failure
to do his utmost brought charges that he had been used as a
scapegoat for ministerial failure and prompted Voltaire's
suggestion (in Candide) that from time to time the British find it
desirable to shoot an admiral "pour encourager les autres [to
encourage the others].