Peter de Blaquière

Who was Peter de Blaquière?

Peter Boyle de Blaquière was a political figure in Upper Canada and the first chancellor of the University of Toronto.

He was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1783, the son of John Blaquiere who emigrated from France and became a member of the peerage. He served in the Royal Navy on the HMS Director under Captain William Bligh, was forced off the Director at the Nore with Bligh in 1797 and later fought at the Battle of Camperdown. After he retired from the Navy, he settled in Southampton, England. He came to Upper Canada in 1837 and settled in the town of Woodstock.

He served as a lieutenant-colonel in the Oxford militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion. He was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1839 and, in 1841, became a member of the Legislative Council of the united Province of Canada. In 1842, he became warden for the Brock District.

In 1849, King's College, affiliated with the Church of England, became the University of Toronto, independent of the church, and, in 1850, de Blaquière became chancellor. In response, Bishop John Strachan established Trinity College as a church university in 1852; it would later join with the University of Toronto.