William lyon mackenzie short biography

MACKENZIE, WILLIAM LYON (he also used McKenzie and MacKenzie), merchant, journalist, politician, and rebel; b. 12 March 1795 at Springfield, Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland, the only child of Daniel Mackenzie, a weaver, and Elizabeth Chalmers, née Mackenzie; d. 28 Aug. 1861 at Toronto, Canada West.

William Lyon Mackenzie’s career can only be understood if the man and the legend are separated. Virtually all examinations of his life have concentrated on his political activities from 1824 to 1838, and such concentration has helped to develop the legend. Because he was most active in periods of stress when the post-Napoleonic despotism was breaking down, new waves of technology were shaking society, and the North American continent was being transformed from wilderness to farmland, his advocacy of radical changes brought him quickly into prominence. Moreover, his colleagues and opponents were less colourful. Fortune let him initiate a rebellion which to later generations seemed crucial in forging Canadian institutions and in establishing a national spirit of democracy, justice, and freedom from oppression. As a legend, Mackenzie has a role and importance that Mackenzie the man could never achieve. Thus he is one of the most documented and discussed and yet one of the most frequently misunderstood figures in Canadian history. He himself laid the basis for the confusion which has surrounded his career. He regularly recorded his own past and his objectives in great detail but his commentaries were often based on a faulty memory, or spurred by the exigencies of the moment.

Both branches of Mackenzie’s family came from Glenshee, in the parish of Kirkmichael, north of Dundee. His parents married at Dundee on 8 May 1794; his mother, the elder by 17 years, was a widow. On 9 April 1795, three weeks after Mackenzie’s birth, the father supposedly died, but no record of his burial exists. Although Charles Lindsey*, Mackenzie’s son-in

Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician (1795–1861)

For the fireboat, see William Lyon Mackenzie (fireboat). For the high school, see William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute. For the prime minister (Mackenzie's grandson), see William Lyon Mackenzie King.

William Lyon Mackenzie (March 12, 1795 – August 28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented York County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and aligned with Reformers. He led the rebels in the Upper Canada Rebellion; after its defeat, he unsuccessfully rallied American support for an invasion of Upper Canada as part of the Patriot War. Although popular for criticising government officials, he failed to implement most of his policy objectives. He is one of the most recognizable Reformers of the early 19th century.

Raised in Dundee, Scotland, Mackenzie emigrated to York, Upper Canada, in 1820. He published his first newspaper, the Colonial Advocate in 1824, and was elected a York County representative to the Legislative Assembly in 1827. York became the city of Toronto in 1834 and Mackenzie was elected its first mayor; he declined the Reformers' nomination to run in the 1835 municipal election. He lost his re-election for the Legislative Assembly in 1836; this convinced him that reforms to the Upper Canadian political system could only happen if citizens initiated an armed conflict. In 1837, he rallied farmers in the area surrounding Toronto and convinced Reform leaders to support the Upper Canada Rebellion. Rebel leaders chose Mackenzie to be their military commander, but were defeated by government troops at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern.

Mackenzie fled to the United States and rallied US support to invade Upper Canada and overthrow the province's government.