Kenneth Blackburne Explained

Sir Kenneth Blackburne
Order:1st
Office:Governor-General of Jamaica
Primeminister:Alexander Bustamante
Term Start:6 August 1962
Term End:30 November 1962
Predecessor:Position established
Successor:Clifford Campbell
Office1:Governor of Jamaica
Monarch1:Elizabeth II
Term Start1:18 December 1957
Term End1:6 August 1962
Predecessor1:Lord Caradon
Successor1:Position abolished
Himself (as governor-general)
Office2:Governor of the Leeward Islands
Term Start2:1950
Term End2:1956
Monarch2:George VI
Elizabeth II
Predecessor2:Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin
Successor2:Alexander Thomas Williams
Birth Name:Kenneth William Blackburne
Birth Date:12 December 1907
Birth Place:Bordon, Hampshire, England
Death Place:Douglas, Isle of Man

Sir Kenneth William Blackburne (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

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

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

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sir Kenneth William Blackburne. 11 May 2020. King's House.
  2. Book: Wendell Bell. Jamaican Leaders. 1964. University of California Press. 9.
  3. Web site: Lady Blackburne. King's House. 11 May 2020.
  4. Encyclopedia: Sir Kenneth Blackburne. Encyclopædia Britannica. Lorraine. Murray. 11 May 2020.