Simcoe, John Graves National Historic Person
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
John Graves Simcoe
© Library and Archives Canada / C-008111
Address :
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1974-05-18
Life Date:
1752 to 1806
Other Name(s):
-
Simcoe, John Graves
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Commanded Queen's Rangers (1777-81); First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1791-96)
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Simcoe was born in Northamptonshire and educated at Oxford. He joined the British army in 1771, and from 1771-81 commanded the Queen's Rangers, a Loyalist corps in America. After the Loyalist influx had led to the creation of a separate province of Upper Canada in 1791, Simcoe was named its first lieutenant-governor. During his five years of office the province's basically British and monarchial character and institutions took shape. After he left Canada in 1796 he held a succession of military and colonial offices, and died in Exeter shortly after being appointed commander-in-chief for India.