Lansdowne, Marquess, << LANZ down, MAHR kwihs, >> of (1845-1927), was a British colonial administrator who served as governor general of Canada from 1883 to 1888. As governor general, Lansdowne supported construction of the coast-to-coast Canadian Pacific Railway. The railway was completed in 1885.
Lansdowne was born on Jan. 14, 1845, in London. His given and family name was Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice. Upon the death of his father in 1866, he became the Fifth Marquess of Lansdowne and inherited one of the largest estates in England. From 1888 to 1893, Lansdowne served as viceroy (ruler) of India, then a British colony. He was British foreign secretary from 1900 to 1905. During this period, he helped Britain work out a military treaty with Japan and an agreement of friendship with France called the Entente Cordiale. Lansdowne died on June 3, 1927.
