Simcoe, John Graves (sĭm`kō), 1752–1806, British army officer, first governor of Upper Canada (Ontario). He served with the British in the American Revolution. Upon the division of Quebec into the two Canadas, he was appointed (1791) lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. In 1792 he arrived at Niagara (which he called Newark), his temporary capital; he moved to York (now Toronto) in 1793. Zealous to make the province a strong colony, Simcoe encouraged immigration (particularly of the American Loyalists), fostered agricultural development, and urged the imperial government to establish a provincial college. He was sent (1796) to take part in the ineffective campaign in Haiti and then returned to England.

Bibliography

See biographies by W. R. Ridell (1926), D. C. Scott (rev. ed. 1926), and M. Van Steen (1968).

Simcoe, John Graves

(born Feb. 25, 1752, Cotterstock, Northamptonshire, Eng.—died Oct. 26, 1806, Exeter, Devonshire) British soldier and colonial administrator in Canada. He served in the American Revolution as commander of the Queen's Rangers (1777–79). He was taken prisoner (1779) but later released (1781) and invalided back to England. After the Constitutional Act was passed, he served as the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) from 1792 to 1796. He encouraged immigration and agriculture and supported defense and road building.