Murray, James

Murray, James, 1721?–94, British general, first civil governor of Canada, b. Scotland. He went to Canada as an army officer in 1757 and was prominent at the siege of Louisburg (1758) and in the crucial battle on the Plains of Abraham. Murray was given command of Quebec and withstood the efforts of the French. He was made military governor of Quebec and after the Treaty of Paris (1763) became (1764) the first civil governor of Canada, then called the Province of Quebec. His efforts to protect the French Canadians prepared the way for the Quebec Act (1774) and earned him the enmity of many of the English. Summoned (1766) to England to face charges of betraying British interests, he was vindicated. Although he continued in the governorship until 1768, he did not return to Canada. He remained in the army and reached the rank of full general (1783).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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