Burgoyne, John 1722-92
English soldier and dramatist

Educated at Westminster School, he entered the army in 1740. In 1743 he eloped with a daughter of the Earl of Derby. In the Seven Years War (1756-63) he captured Valencia de Alc�ntara (1762), and sat in parliament. He was sent out to America where he fought at Bunker Hill (1775). In 1777 he led an expedition from Canada, and took Ticonderoga, but was later forced to surrender to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga. He was Commander-in-Chief in Ireland in 1782-83. He wrote plays including The Maid of the Oaks (1775) and The Heiress (1786).