English. Adams was the founder of a firm of mathematical and scientific instrument makers to the royal family. He was Mathematical Instrument Maker to His Majesty's Office of Ordnance from 1748 until the king's death, and Mathematical Instrument Maker to the Prince of Wales (later George III). The George III Collection in London's National Museum of Science and Industry contains several fine instruments and models made by him (images of which can be seen at www.nmsi.ac.uk).

Following Adams’ death, the firm was carried on into the 19th century by his two sons, George, Jr., and Dudley.

(This history is based on a review of the biography Adams of Fleet Street, Instrument Makers to King George III (by J. R. Milburn); review by Trevor Levere in the Canadian Journal of History, (December, 2001).