Athlone, Earl of (1874-1957), a member of the British royal family and a military officer, served as governor general of South Africa from 1923 to 1930 and governor general of Canada from 1940 to 1946. In South Africa, he worked to unite English-speakers and Afrikaners around a common theme of South African patriotism. In Canada, during World War II (1939-1945), he devoted himself to maintaining the war effort. In 1943 and 1944, he hosted President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom during two historic wartime conferences at his residence in Quebec.
The Earl of Athlone was born in London on April 14, 1874. His full name was Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge. He was the younger brother of Queen Mary, wife of King George V. In 1904, he married Princess Alice, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. He was commissioned an officer in the British Army and served in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 and in World War I (1914-1918). He became Earl of Athlone in 1917. He died on Jan. 16, 1957.
