Aberdeen and Temair, << `ab` ur DEEN and tuh MAIR, >> Marquess of (1847-1934), a British politician, served as governor general of Canada from 1893 to 1898. In 1896, he set an example for future governors general when he refused to approve last-minute political appointments recommended by outgoing prime minister Sir Charles Tupper.
Aberdeen was born on Aug. 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His given and family name was John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon. He became the seventh Earl of Aberdeen in 1870. Lord Aberdeen attended St. Andrews University and Oxford University. He began his political career as a Conservative but later joined the Liberal Party. Aberdeen was the chief British administrator in Ireland in 1886 and from 1905 to 1915. He became a marquess in 1916. Aberdeen and his wife wrote a book about their life called We Twa (1925). He died on March 7, 1934.
