The eldest son of the 8th Duke of Argyll, John Campbell held the courtesy title of Marquess of Lorne until he succeeded his father in 1900. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Eton, St. Andrews and Cambridge. Private secretary to his father, the Secretary of State for India (1868-1871), Lorne represented Argyllshire as a Liberal in the House of Commons (1868-1878). Lorne's appointment to the office of Governor General of Canada in 1878, at age 33, had much to do with his marriage (21 Mar 1871) to Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, and the British government's attempt to enhance the prestige of the queen's representative in Ottawa. However, Lorne's practice of referring problems to Britain overriding Canadian authority caused severe criticism in the beginning of his term. Lorne helped to reconcile British Columbia to Confederation and supported the Canadian government's efforts to establish a Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, though it reduced his own viceregal authority. In 1882, the Fenians, a secret society founded to assist the Irish independence movement, made several threats against the Governor General and Princess Louise, but their plans were never fulfilled. A devoted patron of the arts and letters, Lorne founded the Royal Society of Canada in 1882 and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1880, a precursor to the National Gallery of Canada. When he returned to England, Lorne became Governor and constable of Windsor Castle (1892-1914), and he sat again as a member of the House of Commons from 1895 until he succeeded to the dukedom in 1900. |
