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 (1805 EIC ship) Salvadore on 11 November. "William Pitt" was one of the EIC vessels that were part of the expedition under General Sir David Baird and Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham that would in 1806 capture the Dutch Cape Colony. They would carry supplies and troops to the Cape, and then continue on their voyages. "William Pitt" reached the Cape on 4 January 1806. After the Dutch Governor Jansens signed a capitulation on 18 January 1806, and the British established control of the Cape Colony, escorted the East Indiamen "William Pitt", , , to Madras. The convoy included the , "Streatham", ,