Oglethorpe County was created by act of the legislature on Dec. 19, 1793, and was named for Gen. James E. Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia. Born in London, England, on Dec. 22, 1696, Oglethorpe left England in Nov. 1732 with 116 settlers and arrived at Yamacraw in Jan. 1733, where he established the settlement that became the city of Savannah. He later brought over 150 Scotch Highlanders and some German Protestants from Salzburg. He returned finally to England in 1743 and resigned his Georgia Charter to the British Government in 1752. Always a friend of America, he died on July 1, 1785.