Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck (10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894) was an Irish politician who served as the last

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

and the first

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...

after

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

Early life

Charles Stanley Monck was born in

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The 2011 Cens ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

on 10 October 1819, which was part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

at the time. He was the son of

Charles Monck, 3rd Viscount Monck Charles Joseph Kelly Monck, 3rd Viscount Monck (created 1800) and 3rd Baron Monck (1797) of Ballytrammon, County Wexford, in the Peerage of Ireland (12 July 1791 – 24 April 1849), succeeded to his titles on the death of his brother, Henry. He w ...

, and his wife Bridget ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Willington. His paternal grandparents were Charles Monck, 1st Viscount Monck and the former Anne Quin. After his uncle,

Henry Monck, 1st Earl of Rathdowne Henry Stanley Monck, 1st Earl of Rathdowne and 2nd Viscount Monck (26 July 1785 – 20 September 1848), was the son of Charles Monck, 1st Viscount Monck, and Anne Quin. On 28 July 1806, he married Lady Frances Mary Trench, daughter of William Tren ...

(and 2nd Viscount), died without male heirs (but was father to nine girls), the earldom became extinct and the late earl’s younger brother (Charles Stanley's father Charles) became the 3rd Viscount. His maternal grandparents were John Willington of Killoskehan Castle in Barnane, and the former Bridget Butler (daughter of Theobald Butler of Knocka Castle in Drom).

Career

Monck obtained a law degree from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. He married his cousin Elizabeth Monck in 1844, and in 1849 he inherited his father's title of Viscount Monck. In 1852 he was elected MP for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, and from 1855 to 1858 he served as Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston.

Governor General of Canada

In 1861, he was appointed

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

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as well as Governor of the

. Lord and Lady Monck and their children came to Canada, but they did not remain throughout his term of office as Governor General of Canada. The family resided at Spencerwood in Quebec during most of their stay in Canada. During this time, the Canadian colonies were beginning to organise themselves into a confederation. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

had just broken out, and the

Trent Affair The ''Trent'' Affair was a diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and Great Britain. The U.S. Navy captured two Confederate envoys from a British Royal Mail steamer; the Brit ...

caused diplomatic tension between the United States and Britain. The Canadian government was eager to gain some measure of independence during this turbulent period. The Quebec Conference, the

Charlottetown Conference The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thro ...

, and the London Conference, at which the details of confederation were discussed, all took place during Monck's time as governor. Monck supported the idea, and worked closely with John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier, and Étienne-Paschal Taché, who formed the " Great Coalition" in 1864. In 1866, Viscount Monck became a

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

with the title Baron Monck. When the Canadian colonies became a semi-independent confederation the next year, Monck became the country's first Governor General. Monck was also responsible for establishing

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main bu ...

as the residence of the Governor General in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Later life

In 1869, Monck was succeeded by John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar. He returned home to Ireland, where he became

Lord Lieutenant of Dublin This is a list of those who have held the post of Lord Lieutenant of County Dublin. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 ...

in 1874.

Personal life

Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck by William Notman

On 23 June 1844, he married Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck, his first cousin and the daughter of his uncle Henry, the 2nd Viscount, who had been made Earl of Rathdowne in 1822. Together, they were the parents of two sons and two daughters: * Hon. Frances Mary Monck (d. 1930), who married the Rev. Richard Aslatt Pearce. * Hon. Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck (d. 1913), who married John Macdonald Royse. * Henry Power Charles Stanley Monck, 5th Viscount Monck (1849–1927), who married Lady Edith Caroline Sophia Scott, the fourth daughter of John Scott, 3rd Earl of Clonmell, in 1874. * Hon. Richard Charles Stanley Mountjoy Monck (1858–1892), who married Alice Ann Lymer in 1879. Lady Monck died in June 1892, aged 78. He died in November 1894, aged 75.

Arms

References

External links

* * * http://www.gg.ca
Photograph: Governor General Monck in 1864. McCord MuseumPhotograph: Lord Monck, Governor General in 1866. McCord Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monck, Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount 1819 births 1894 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Governors General of Canada Governors-General of the Province of Canada Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from County Tipperary UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Lord-Lieutenants of Dublin Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria