The Godfather of Downing Street: Sir George Downing, 1623-1684

Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet was in turn a preacher, soldier, statesman, diplomat and spymaster and politician whose allegiances notably changed during his career, and after whom Downing Street in London is named. As Teller of the Exchequer he is credited with instituting major reforms in public finance. His influence on the passage and substance of the mercantilist Navigation Acts was substantial. The Acts protected English maritime commerce from competition, especially competition from the Netherlands, and led to the increase in the size of the English merchant fleet and of the Royal Navy that protected it. They are credited with contributing to the security of the English state and its ability to project its power abroad, but may have stunted potential developments in shipbuilding and operation by stifling competition. More than any other man he was responsible for arranging the acquisition of New York from the Dutch, and is remembered there in the name of two other streets named after him in New York, one in Greenwich Village and one in Brooklyn.