Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron

Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron, 1778–1863, British soldier and colonial administrator. He served in Egypt (1801) and Sicily (1806), participated (1808–14) in the Peninsular War, and helped to defeat Napoleon's “Old Guard” at Waterloo. He was appointed lieutenant governor of Guernsey (1825) and lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (1828), serving in the latter post until 1836. In 1835 he was made commander in chief of Canadian forces, and he suppressed the rebellions of 1837 and 1838. He was governor in chief of British North America in 1839, the year he was made a baron. After he left Canada he served as lord high commissioner of the Ionian Islands (1843–49) and commanded the forces in Ireland (1855–60). He was made a field marshal in 1860.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Canadian History: Biographies