- John Clitherow
Major General John Clitherow (December 13 ,1782 –October 14 ,1852 ) was an army officer, politician and was brieflyLieutenant Governor ofCanada West andCanada East (1841).He was born at
Essendon, Hertfordshire ,England in 1782. John Clitherow enlisted in theBritish Army in 1799 and served in the Egyptian campaign of 1801 and in thePeninsular War among other assignments. He arrived inBritish North America in 1838 as commander ofMontreal following theLower Canada Rebellion .He served as an advisor to Lord Durham as a member of the Special Council that administered
Lower Canada following the rebellion.When the second rebellion broke out Clitherow commanded 3,000 regulars that marched on rebel headquarters. He also presided over courts martial that prosecuted the rebels.
In 1841, he was transferred to
Canada West to command British forces there and was made governor by Lord Sydenham. Upon becoming governor, he was succeeded as commander of the British forces by Richard Armstrong. He prorogued the first session of the first parliament of theProvince of Canada when Sydenham died and remained acting Governor for six days until the appointment of SirRichard Downes Jackson as administrator.External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3837 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
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