Henry Poole MacKeen

Who was Henry Poole MacKeen?

Henry Poole MacKeen, OC was a Canadian lawyer and the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1963 to 1968.

Born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, the son of former Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia David MacKeen, he served during World War I as an artillery officer, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was wounded in 1916. After the war, he received his LL.B in 1921 from Dalhousie University. He was a practicing lawyer and served during World War II as the commanding officer of the Halifax Rifles 2nd Battalion from 1945 to 1946. He was also the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel from 1948 to 1960. He helped to defend Kurt Meyer, Canada’s only jailed war criminal.

He was appointed Lieutenant Governor in 1963 and served until 1968. After, he became the first Chancellor of Acadia University.

In 1969, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

In 1928, he married Alice Richardson Tilley, the daughter of Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley. They had two children: Judith Tilley MacKeen and Henry David MacKeen.