John Coape Sherbrooke

Sir John Coape Sherbrooke (baptised April 29 1764 – February 14 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.

His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812 led to his appointment as Governor General of British North America in 1816. His talent as a mediator helped settle disputes between anglophones and francophones, and he won the confidence of Louis-Joseph Papineau.

Ill health (probably a stroke) forced him to resign after only two years, and he retired to Nottinghamshire in England. However, his brief tenure was remembered as a period of calm before the coming storm (see Rebellions of 1837).

The city of Sherbrooke, Quebec and the town of Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia are named after him, as are Sherbrooke Street in Montreal,a Montreal Metro station named Sherbrooke and Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg.

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3132 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fra/Membres/notices/s/SHERJC.htm National Assembly biography] (in French)