SYDENHAM, Charles Edward Poulett Thomson, Baron, governor-general of Canada, born at Waverley Abbey, Surrey, England, 13 September, 1799; died in Kingston, Canada, 19 September, 1841. He was the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, who was engaged in trading with Russia. In 1819 he became a clerk in his father's St. Petersburg house, where he was afterward a partner, and subsequently he was a partner in the London firm, and sustained losses in 1825 by investing in Mexican mines. He represented Dover in parliament from 1826 till 1830, when, being elected for that constituency and Manchester, he decided to sit for the latter. In parliament he was an early and resolute advocate of the principles of free-trade. In 1830 he was appointed vice-president of the board of trade and treasurer of the navy, and he became a member of the privy council on 23 November of that year. In July, 1834, he was made president of the board of trade, but he resigned in the following November, with the rest of Lord Melbourne's ministry, and in April, 1835, when Viscount Melbourne formed a new cabinet, he resumed the same portfolio, with a seat in the cabinet, which he held till his appointment as governor-general of Canada in August, 1839. He arrived in Canada on 19 October, and soon afterward visited Montreal and other parts of the country, and held sessions of the legislatures of Upper and of Lower Canada. He took energetic measures to suppress the insurrections of Louis J. Papineau and William L. Mackenzie, but sought to remedy the causes of discontent. With diplomatic tact he obtained the acquiescence of both provinces in the legislative union, which was consummated when he took the oath of office on 10 February, 1841, as governor of Canada under the act of union that was passed by the British parliament in July, 1840. He also exerted himself to complete public works. He was raised to the peerage, 10 August, 1840, by the title of Baron Sydenham of Toronto, as a mark of appreciation of the successful manner in which he had administered the government of Canada. While riding near Kingston, 5 September, 1841, he fell from his horse and sustained injuries that, though not in themselves fatal, resulted in death. He was appointed knight grand cross of the Order of the Bath, 19 August, 1841. His "Memoirs" were published by his brother, George Poulett Scrope (London, 1843).