George was tutored by Welsh mathematician William Jones,[2] who went on to become the first person to use the symbol π (the Greek letter Pi) to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

In 1722, he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and he spent most of his time in astronomical observations at his Oxfordshire seat, Shirburn Castle, which had been bought by his father in 1716; here he built an observatory and a chemical laboratory.

From 1752 until his death, Macclesfield was president of the Royal Society, and he made some observations on the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

The Foundling Hospital was a charitable institution created a decade earlier, dedicated to saving London's abandoned children.

The Earl seems to have taken his position seriously, as he commissioned the artist Benjamin Wilson to paint a full-size portrait of him, which he then donated to the hospital.