Dinwiddie << dihn WIHD ee >>, Robert (1692-1770), was lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. He was a merchant and customs officer in Bermuda before coming to Virginia, where he became acting governor. He invested in land in the Ohio region and was eager to keep the area from falling under French control. In 1753, he sent George Washington to demand that the French withdraw from western Pennsylvania, which had been claimed by Virginia. In the war that followed, Dinwiddie urged the colonies to help the English drive the French from the Ohio Valley. He quarreled with the Virginia Assembly because of its reluctance to vote funds for the war. Dinwiddie returned to Britain in 1758. He was born near Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 3, 1692. Dinwiddie died on July 27, 1770.
