Mackenzie, William Lyon

William Lyon Mackenzie, journalist and politician, was born in 1795, at Dundee, Scotland. Mackenzie arrived in Upper Canada from Scotland in 1820. He began his newspaper, the Colonial Advocate, in Queenston in 1824. He moved to York in 1824 and was elected to the Assembly in 1828. Mackenzie's harsh criticism of the Family Compact, a small group of men who controlled the colony, gained him a large following among the people. Friends of the Family Compact retaliated with threats and legal action. In 1834 York became the city of Toronto and Mackenzie became its first mayor. By this time Mackenzie's views had become more extreme. In 1837 he led a rag-tag group of rebels down Yonge Street. Only a few shots were fired and the rebels scattered. Mackenzie evaded capture and fled to the United States. He tried unsuccessfully to organize a new scheme from Navy Island on the Niagara River. He was put in prison by the Americans. After his release he worked as a journalist in the United States and wrote several books. Mackenzie was pardoned and he returned to Canada in 1849. He resumed his career as a journalist and was again elected as an MLA. He kept up his fiery criticism until his death in 1861 at Toronto. Mackenzie's grandson, William Lyon Mackenzie King, became prime minister of Canada.