History of New York City (prehistory–1664) as a city and to incidentally allow New York to celebrate its 350th anniversary just 11 years after its 300th. The English renamed the colony New York, after the king's brother James, Duke of York and on June 12, 1665, appointed Thomas Willett the first of the mayors of New York. The city grew northward, remaining the largest and most important city in the colony of New York. History of New York City (prehistory–1664) The history of New York City has been influenced by the prehistoric geological formation during the last glacial period of the territory that is today New
Thomas Bell (Mayor of Gloucester) Member of Parliament (MP) for the city (1545–47, 1547–52, 1553 and 1554–55). He was knighted on 27 February 1546/7. He appears to have held orthodox Roman Catholic religious views: in 1537, while mayor, he was accused by leading townsmen John Huggins and John Rastell of calling Bishop Latimer of Worcester a heretic. A portrait of Bell the Elder is in the possession of Gloucester City Council. He is not to be confused with his younger brother (possibly half-brother), also called Thomas, also prominent, Sir Thomas Bell the Younger (d. 1560/1), Mayor of Bristol, who also served as Mayor of Gloucester