Pitt Street, George Town have lived here for centuries. Pitt Street was named after William Pitt the Younger, who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain between 1783 and 1801. When Captain Francis Light founded Penang Island in 1786, he renamed the island the "Prince of Wales Island" in honour of the Prince of Wales, the new settlement of George Town after King George III and the first street within the settlement after himself. Worried that Prime Minister William Pitt may have felt offended as nothing was named after him, Light felt compelled to name Pitt Street after him. Pitt Street, created soon after
William Pitt the Younger reference to his heavy consumption of port wine. These bottles would be around 350 ml in volume. William Pitt the Younger was a powerful prime minister who consolidated the powers of his office. Though he was sometimes opposed by members of his Cabinet, he helped define the role of the Prime Minister as the supervisor and co-ordinator of the various Government departments. After his death the conservatives embraced him as a great patriotic hero. One of Pitt's most important accomplishments was a rehabilitation of the nation's finances after the American War of Independence. Pitt helped manage the mounting national debt,