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Lord Selkirk

Colonizer of Red River · 1771-1820

Spent a fortune settling dispossessed Highlanders on the prairie and died broke, fighting the fur trade in court.

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Life story

1. June 20, 1771 · Scotland
   Born at St Mary's Isle in Kirkcudbrightshire
2. 1803 · Prince Edward Island
   Settled Highlanders cleared from their land on Prince Edward Island
3. 1811 · Rupert's Land
   Bought control of the Hudson's Bay Company and took a grant of 300,000 square kilometres
4. August 30, 1812 · Red River, Manitoba
   His first settlers reached the forks of the Red and Assiniboine
5. June 19, 1816 · Fort William, Ontario
   Twenty-one colonists killed at Seven Oaks; he seized Fort William in reply
6. April 8, 1820 · France
   Died at Pau in France, ruined by legal costs

In the timeline

• 1812 — The Selkirk Settlement
• 1816 — Seven Oaks

Sources

• Wikipedia article: Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• The Canadian Encyclopedia