Sir Alexander Bannerman (7 October 1788 – 30 December 1864) was a Scottish merchant, vintner, politician and British colonial governor.

Early life

Known as "Sandy", he was born on 7 October 1788 in Scotland. He was the eldest son of merchant Thomas Bannerman (1743–1820) and his wife, Jean (née Simson) Bannerman (1745–1817), who married in 1779. His younger brother, Thomas, was the father of Sir George Bannerman, 10th Baronet and grandfather of Sir Alexander Bannerman, 11th Baronet.

Bannerman was a prominent businessman in his hometown of Aberdeen from where he managed the family wine business. He also had a hand in trading and whaling. Bannerman served as the city's provost and in 1837, was elected dean of Marischal College, Aberdeen.

Career

Alexander Bannerman joined the town council of Aberdeen in 1811. He was a reformer, challenging the long-standing oligarchy led by James and Gavin Hadden, and was instrumental in establishing an elected trust to manage the new Aberdeen Harbour.

In 1832 he became Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen in the House of Commons, sitting as a Radical, and remained an MP until his retirement in 1847. Together with his wife, Margaret Gordon the granddaughter of former Governor Walter Patterson, Bannerman returned to the colony of her birth, when he took up the appointment in 1851 as governor of Prince Edward Island. On this occasion he was made a Knight Bachelor.

While in England, he caught a cold and, in his enfeebled state, fell down a flight of stairs causing his death on 30 December 1864 in Mayfair, London aged 76.

He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Legacy

Bannerman Park in St. John's commemorates his name in Newfoundland.

References

  • Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online