Durham << DUR uhm >>, Earl of (1792-1840), was a British political leader and governor general of the United Kingdom’s Canadian colonies. A government report that he wrote about Canada in 1839 has long been considered an important document in Canadian history. But a number of scholars have shown that the report had little effect on the United Kingdom’s policies toward its Canadian colonies.
Durham served as governor general of Canada for about four months. He went there in 1838 to investigate the causes of rebellions in the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada (see Rebellions of 1837). Durham resigned when the British Parliament disagreed with his mild punishment of the rebels.
After returning to the United Kingdom, Durham wrote his Report on the Affairs of British North America. The report urged the government to unify Upper and Lower Canada and to give the Canadian colonies self-government in local affairs. These proposals were later adopted. But they originally had been suggested by other people, and Durham’s report was largely disregarded by the British Parliament.
Durham was born on April 12, 1792, in London. His full name was John George Lambton. He was elected to Parliament in 1813. Durham became a Cabinet member in 1830 and helped write the Reform Act of 1832. The Reform Act gave most men of the middle class the right to vote. Durham served as a diplomat in Russia in 1832 and from 1835 to 1837. Lambton became Earl of Durham in 1833. He died on July 28, 1840.
