Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava

His Excellency The Most Honourable The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava KP GCB GCSI GCMG GCIE PC
Lord Dufferin in 1873
Viceroy and Governor-General of India
In office 13 December 1884 – 10 December 1888
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Marquess of Ripon
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Lansdowne
3rd Governor General of Canada
In office 25 June 1872 – 25 November 1878
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Canadian: Sir John A. Macdonald Alexander Mackenzie British: William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Beaconsfield
Preceded by	The Lord Lisgar
Succeeded by	Marquess of Lorne
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 12 December 1868 – 9 August 1872
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Thomas Edward Taylor
Succeeded by	Hugh Childers
British Ambassador to France
In office 1891–1896
Preceded by	The Earl of Lytton
Succeeded by	Sir Edmund Monson
Personal details
Born	Frederick Temple Blackwood (1826-06-21)21 June 1826 Florence, Stato Vecchio Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy
Died	12 February 1902(1902-02-12) (aged 75) Clandeboye Estate Bangor, County Down, UK
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Hariot Rowan-Hamilton
Children	Lady Helen Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood Archibald Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Earl of Ava Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 2nd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava Hermione Munro Ferguson, Viscountess Novar Lord Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood Alexandrina Plunket, Lady Plunket Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
Parents	Price Blackwood, 4th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye Helen Selina Sheridan
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Signature

Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC (21 June 1826 – 12 February 1902), was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society.^[1] In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Victoria, and became well known to the public after publishing a best-selling account of his travels in the North Atlantic.

He is now best known as one of the most successful public servants of his time. His long career in public service began as a commissioner to Syria in 1860, where his skilful diplomacy maintained British interests while preventing France from instituting a client state in Lebanon. After his success in Syria, Dufferin served in the Government of the United Kingdom as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster^[2] and Under-Secretary of State for War. In 1872 he became Governor General of Canada, bolstering imperial ties in the early years of the Dominion, and in 1884 he reached the pinnacle of his official career as Viceroy of India.

He served as ambassador to France from 1891 to 1896. Following his retirement from the diplomatic service in 1896, his final years were marred by personal tragedy and a misguided attempt to secure his family's financial position. His eldest son was killed in the Second Boer War and another son was badly wounded. He was chairman of a mining firm that went bankrupt after swindling people, although he was ignorant of the matter. His biographer Davenport-Hines says he was "imaginative, sympathetic, warm-hearted, and gloriously versatile."^[3] He was an effective leader in Lebanon, Canada and India, averted war with Russia, and annexed Burma. He was careless with money but charming in high society on three continents.