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.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica