Kenneth Blackburne
Sir Kenneth Blackburne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Governor-General of Jamaica | |
| In office 6 August 1962 – 30 November 1962 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Alexander Bustamante |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Clifford Campbell |
| Governor of Jamaica | |
| In office 18 December 1957 – 6 August 1962 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Lord Caradon |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished Himself (as governor-general) |
| Governor of the Leeward Islands | |
| In office 1950–1956 | |
| Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Thomas Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth William Blackburne 12 December 1907 Bordon, Hampshire, England |
| Died | 4 November 1980 (aged 72) Douglas, Isle of Man |
Sir Kenneth William Blackburne GCMG GBE (12 December 1907 – 4 November 1980) was a British colonial official who was the first governor-general of Jamaica. He was knighted in 1952.
Early life
[edit]Blackburne was born on 12 December 1907 in Bordon Camp, Bordon, Hampshire, England, the first son of The Very Reverend Harry Blackburne. He attended Marlborough College and graduated from Clare College at the University of Cambridge with a degree in Modern Languages and Geography.[1]
Career
[edit]Blackburne entered the colonial service in 1930 and served in Nigeria, Palestine and the Gambia. He then served in the West Indies from 1943 to 1947 and subsequently as director of colonial information services in London from 1947 to 1950, before returning to the West Indies. He served as Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1950 to 1956 and as Governor of Jamaica from 1957 until 1962. When Jamaica received its independence in August 1962, Blackburne was appointed as the Governor-General; he served in that position for three months till 30 November 1962 when his Jamaican replacement, Clifford Campbell, took office.[2]
Blackburne was also the patron of many organisations including the Commodore Royal Jamaica Yacht Club, the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica Anti-Tuberculosis League, the Jamaica Automobile Association, the Jamaica Cricket Board of Control, the Jamaica Historical Society, and many others.[1]
Personal life and death
[edit]On 18 May 1935, Blackburne married Bridgette Senhouse Constant, the daughter of James Mackay Wilson and Alice (née Goldie-Taubman). They had a son, Martin Andrew (born July 1944), and a daughter, Jean Alice (born February 1948).[3] Blackburne was an Anglican and enjoyed tennis and sailing.[1] He died on 4 November 1980 in Douglas, Isle of Man.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Sir Kenneth William Blackburne". King's House. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Wendell Bell (1964). Jamaican Leaders. University of California Press. p. 9.
- ^ "Lady Blackburne". King's House. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Murray, Lorraine. "Sir Kenneth Blackburne". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- 1907 births
- 1980 deaths
- Colonial Administrative Service officers
- Governors of Jamaica
- Governors-general of Jamaica
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
- People from Bordon
- People from colonial Nigeria
- British expatriates in Nigeria
- British expatriates in the Gambia
- British people in Mandatory Palestine
- British expatriates in Jamaica
- 20th-century English politicians