Item 0011 - Letter, 13 October 1883

Frederick Temple Hamilton Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, was born on June 21, 1826, in Florence, Italy.

He was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society, diplomat, author, and Governor-General of Canada. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, but he left after only two years without obtaining a degree. In 1841, he succeeded his father as Baron Dufferin. In 1856, he set off on a journey around the North Atlantic and published a successful book about his travels, "Letters from High Latitudes". In 1860, he chose the career of a public servant and was appointed a British commissioner to Syria where his skilful diplomacy maintained British interests. After his success in Syria, Dufferin served in the Government of the United Kingdom as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Under-Secretary of State for War. In 1872, he became Governor-General of Canada. During his six-year term, Prince Edward Island was admitted to Confederation, and several well-known Canadian institutions, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the Intercolonial Railway were established. Lady Dufferin was also very active during her husband's successful career. He served as ambassador to Imperial Russia from 1879 to 1881 and to the Ottoman Empire (1881-1884). In 1884, he reached the pinnacle of his diplomatic career as Viceroy of India. In 1888, he published the "Report on the Conditions of the Lower Classes of Population in Bengal". He also served as ambassador to Italy (1888-1891) and to France (1891-1896). In 1888, he became Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Ava being an ancient Burmese capital. Dufferin was also President of the Royal Geographical Society and Rector of the University of Edinburgh and the University of St. Andrews. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL. D) from the University of Glasgow in 1901.

In 1862, he married Hariot Georgina Rowan Hamilton. He died on February 12, 1902, in Clandeboye, Northern Ireland.