Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer
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Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer (May 24, 1775–February 23, 1850 15 Eaton Square, Belgravia) was a British military officer and colonial administrator.
In 1814, following service in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, he was appointed adjutant general of British forces in Ireland, where he remained until 1823. After reaching the position of colonel in the British Army he was, in 1830, appointed commander of British military forces in North America as well as Governor General of British North America and Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada.
Lord Aylmer had no previous experience as a civil administrator and no political experience and was unable to pacify the growing demands in Lower Canada for responsible government and, in 1834, the radical Assembly of Lower Canada passed 92 resolutions of grievance including a demand that Aylmer be recalled. Lord Aylmer exacerbated ethnic tensions in Lower Canada by favoring the English. The deterioration of the situation led to his recall in 1835. His administration may have been a contributing factor to the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837.
Returning to England, Aylmer was promoted to the rank of general but he never obtained a British peerage (his dignity was in the Irish peerage), or another administrative post.
Aylmer's sister Rose Aylmer was the inspiration behind the poem of that name by Walter Savage Landor.
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Donoughmore |
Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment 23 July 1832 |
Succeeded by Sir John Forster FitzGerald |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir James Kempt |
Governor General of British North America 1830–1835 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Gosford |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Henry Aylmer |
Baron Aylmer 1785–1850 |
Succeeded by Frederick Aylmer |
