John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

"Marquis of Lorne" and "Marquess of Lorne" redirect here. For the subsidiary title, see Duke of Argyll.

For other persons of the same name, see John Campbell (disambiguation) or Duke of Argyll.

His Grace the Duke of Argyll KG KT GCMG GCVO VD PC
4th Governor General of Canada
In office 25 November 1878 – 23 October 1883
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	John A. Macdonald
Preceded by	The Earl of Dufferin
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Lansdowne
Personal details
Born	6 August 1845 (2025-01-10UTC20:44:45) London, United Kingdom
Died	Cowes United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Liberal Unionist
Spouse(s)	Princess Louise of the United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of St Andrews Trinity College, Cambridge

John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG KT GCMG GCVO VD PC (6 August 1845 – 2 May 1914), usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. He is now remembered primarily for the place names bestowed on Canadian geography in honour of his wife and for his metrical paraphrase of Psalm 121, "Unto the hills around do I lift up".

Background and career

He was born in London, the eldest son of George, Marquess of Lorne and the former Lady Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland, and was styled Earl of Campbell from birth. In 1847, when he was 21 months old, his father succeeded as 8th Duke of Argyll and he assumed the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, which he bore until he was 54. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Eton College, St Andrews and at Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as at the National Art Training School.

For ten years before coming to Canada, Campbell travelled throughout North and Central America, writing travel literature and poetry. In the UK, he represented, from 1868, the constituency of Argyllshire as a Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. He made little impression there, however; the London World referred to Campbell as "a non-entity in the House of Commons, and a non-entity without."

Campbell married Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, on 21 March 1871. This was the first time a daughter of the sovereign had married a subject of the Crown since 1515, when Charles Brandon, the first Duke of Suffolk, married Mary Tudor. The pair shared a common love of the arts, but tended to live apart and never had children. Further, Campbell formed close friendships with men who were rumoured to be homosexually inclined, which raised questions about Campbell's marriage and fuelled rumours around London that Campbell was bisexual, if not largely homosexual in predisposition.

Governor General of Canada

Princess Louise and Lorne engagement

When Lord Lorne's appointment was announced, there was great excitement throughout Canada. For the first time, Rideau Hall would have a royal resident. The Canadian Prime Minister relaxed his busy campaign schedule to prepare for her arrival and to organise a special carriage and corps of guards to protect the Princess. An author wrote in 1880 that "the appointment was hailed with satisfaction in all parts of the Dominion, and the new Governor General entered upon his term of office with the hearts of the people strongly prepossessed [sic] in his favour." However, Campbell and his wife were initially not received well by the Canadian press, which complained about the imposition of royalty on the country's hitherto un-regal society, a position that was only exasperated by mishaps and misunderstandings. The worries of a rigid court at the Queen's Canadian residence turned out to be unfounded; the royal couple were found to be more relaxed than their predecessors, as demonstrated at the many ice skating and tobogganing parties, balls, dinners, and other state occasions hosted by the Marquess and Marchioness.

At age 33, Lord Lorne was Canada's youngest governor general, but he was not too young to handle the marginal demands of his post. He and Princess Louise made many lasting contributions to Canadian society, especially in the arts and sciences. They encouraged the establishment of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and the National Gallery of Canada, even selecting some of its first paintings. Campbell was also involved in the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and other projects, such as a hospital for British Columbia. In addition to acting as a patron of arts and letters in Canada, Lorne was the author of many books of prose and poetry. His writings show a deep appreciation of Canada's physical beauty.

Mi'kmaq Grand Chief Jacques-Pierre Peminuit Paul (3rd from left with beard) meets Governor General of Canada, Lord Lorne, Red Chamber, Province House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1879

Throughout his term of office, Lorne was intensely interested in Canada and Canadians. He travelled throughout the country encouraging the establishment of numerous institutions, and met with members of Canada's First Nations and with other Canadians from all walks of life. At Rideau Hall, he and Princess Louise hosted many social functions, including numerous ice skating and tobogganing parties as well as balls, dinners and state occasions. His small collection of First Nations artefacts was purchased by the British Museum in 1887.

After Canada

Princess Louise returned to England in 1881 and Lord Lorne followed two years later in 1883, when his book, Memories of Canada and Scotland, was published. Lorne was Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle from 1892 to 1914 and he sat as MP for Manchester South from 1895 until the death of his father on 24 April 1900, when he succeeded as 9th and 2nd Duke of Argyll. He and Princess Louise lived at Kensington Palace until his death from pneumonia in 1914. He is buried at Kilmun Parish Church.

Honours

• KG: Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
• KT: Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
• GCMG:Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George
• GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order - 2 February 1901

• LL.D. (honorary), University of Cambridge, May 1902

Places named after him

• Lorne Building in Ottawa was a office building completed in 1959 and was temporary home to the National Gallery of Canada until 1987 and demolished in 2010 and site replaced by James Flaherty Building for the Department of Finance.
• Port Lorne, Nova Scotia is named after him

Ancestors

Family of John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

16. John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll               8. John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll                       17. The Hon. Mary Kerr               4. John Campbell, 7th Duke of Argyll                             18. John Gunning               9. Elizabeth Gunning, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon                       19. Bridget Bourke               2. George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll                                   10. John Glassel                       5. Joan Glassel                             22. John Buchan               11. Helen Buchan                       1. John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll                                         24. Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford               12. George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland                       25. Lady Louisa Egerton               6. George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland                             26. William Gordon, 18th Earl of Sutherland               13. Elizabeth Gordon, 19th Countess of Sutherland                       27. Mary Maxwell               3. Lady Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower                                   28. Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle               14. George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle                       29. Lady Margaret Leveson-Gower               7. Lady Harriet Howard                             30. William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire               15. Lady Georgiana Cavendish                       31. Lady Georgiana Spencer

References

• The London Gazette: no. 26353. p. 7290. 13 December 1892.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Duke of Argyll
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Website of the Governor General of Canada
• Works by John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Duke of Argyll at Internet Archive
• Archival material relating to John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll listed at the UK National Archives
• Photograph: Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada in 1879. McCord Museum

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Alexander Finlay	Member of Parliament for Argyllshire 1868–1878	Succeeded by Lord Colin Campbell
Preceded by Sir Henry Roscoe	Member of Parliament for Manchester South 1895–1900	Succeeded by Hon. William Peel
Government offices
Preceded by The Earl of Dufferin	Governor General of Canada 1878–1883	Succeeded by The Marquess of Lansdowne
Honorary titles
Preceded by Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg	Governor of Windsor Castle 1892–1914	Succeeded by The Marquess of Cambridge
Preceded by The Duke of Argyll	Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire 1900–1914	Succeeded by The Marquess of Breadalbane
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by George Campbell	Duke of Argyll 1900–1914	Succeeded by Niall Campbell
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Campbell	Duke of Argyll 1900–1914	Succeeded by Niall Campbell