William Byrd III William Byrd III William Byrd III (September 6, 1728January 1 or January 2, 1777) was the son of William Byrd II and the grandson of William Byrd I. He inherited his family's estate of approximately 179,000 acres of land in Virginia and continued their planter prestige as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He chose to fight in the French and Indian War rather than spend much time in Richmond. In 1756 he was colonel of the Second Virginia Regiment. William Byrd III had a reputation as a notorious gambler. He initiated what was said to have been
William I of Guelders and Jülich temporarily unified. William was the eldest son of William II, Duke of Jülich and Maria of Guelders, half-sister of Reginald III, Duke of Guelders and Edward, Duke of Guelders. The brothers Edward and Reginald disputed the Duchy, with Edward taking control in 1361, imprisoning his brother. In 1366, Edward violated a peace made with Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (who was Duke of Brabant by marriage to Joanna, Duchess of Brabant) by not protecting Brabant merchants in the land between the Rhine and the Meuse who were under threat by armed men involved in