Young, Sir John, Baron Lisgar,
b. 1807-08-31
d. 1876-10-06
In an enclosure to this letter, Sir John Young, is requested by the Duke of Newcastle to inform Mr Brown of Sydney New South Wales that no progress has been made in connecting British Columbia with Canada by railway.
Young held the title of Governor-General of Canada and Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1869 to 1872. He was a strong supporter of confederation and played a key role in encouraging British Columbia and Manitoba to join.1 While the Treaty of Washington was being drawn up, Young struggled to maintain Canadian interests, to the chagrin of British commissioners.2
Young was born in Bombay, India, on 31 August 1807.3 He graduated from Oxford University in 1829. He served in Ireland as Lord of Treasury from 1844 to 1846, and Chief Secretary from 1852 to 1855. Young left Ireland to accept the position of Lord High Commissioner on the Ionian islands on 20 March 1855.4 On 22 March 1861, Young accepted an offer to become Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New South Wales, Australia. He returned to England from Australia on 24 December 1867.5 On 26 October 1870, Young was made Baron Lisgar.6
Young resigned from the Canadian government after falling ill in early 1872. He died on 6 October 1876 at Lisgar House, Bailieborough, Ireland.7
  • 1. Sir John Young, Baron Lisgar, Historica Canada.
  • 2. E. I. Carlyle, Young, John, Oxford University Press.
  • 3. Ibid.
  • 4. Charles A. Thompson, YOUNG, Sir JOHN, Baron LISGAR, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto 2003-
  • 5. Carlyle, Young, John, .
  • 6. Thompson, YOUNG, Sir JOHN, Baron LISGAR.
  • 7. Carlyle, Young, John, .
Mentions of this person in the documents
The Colonial Despatches Team. Young, Sir John, Baron Lisgar,. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/young_j.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)