Sydenham << SIHD uhn uhm >> Baron (1799-1841), was a British statesman and governor general of Canada from 1839 to 1841. He succeeded the Earl of Durham, who had served briefly as governor general. Sydenham carried out the Act of Union that united Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (now Quebec) in 1841.
Sydenham was born Charles Edward Poulett Thomson at Waverly Abbey, near Farnham, England. He became a merchant and an early supporter of free trade. In 1826, he was elected to Parliament and, in 1834, became president of Britain’s Board of Trade. Queen Victoria gave him the title Baron Sydenham in 1840. Sydenham resigned as governor general in 1841. He died of tetanus after a horse riding accident.
