Aberdeen and Temair, John Campbell Gordon, Marquis of, 1847-1934
- Person
- 1847-1934
John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon (Lord Aberdeen) was born August 3, 1847 in Edinburgh. He studied at University of St. Andrews and University College, Oxford (from which he received a Bachelor of Arts). Upon the death of his eldest brother George in January 1870, he was made the 7th Earl of Aberdeen and subsequently entered the British House of Lords. From 1881 to 1885, he served as Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland and then he was named Viceroy (Lord Lieutenant) of Ireland from February to July 1886. He then proceeded to become an alderman in Middlesex County Council (1889), establish an orchard in the northern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia in 1891, and then British Prime Minister Gladstone appointed him Governor General of Canada beginning September 1893 which continued until November 1898. During his time as Governor General, Lord and Lady Aberdeen travelled extensively through Canada and attempted to meet with as many people as possible regardless of their social or economic status, including many First Nations people and this resulted in him made an honorary chief of both the Six Nations and Blackfoot people. Lord and Lady Aberdeen returned to Britain in 1898 where he completed his second term as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from December 1905 to February 1915. He was made 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair on January 4, 1916.
In November 1877, Lord Aberdeen married Ishbel-Maria Marjoribanks, who during their time in Canada would establish the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) and become one of the organizers of the National Council of Women in Canada.
Lord Aberdeen died on March 7, 1934.