FAMEPedia:Today's featured article/August 28, 2021

William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 – August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, represented York County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and aligned with Reformers. Dundee-born, Mackenzie emigrated to York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), in 1820 and published his first newspaper in 1824. He was elected to the legislative assembly in 1827 and became Toronto's first mayor in 1834. In 1837, he commanded the rebels in the Upper Canada Rebellion, but was defeated at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. He fled to the U.S. to rally American support for an invasion of Upper Canada. This violated the Neutrality Act and he was imprisoned. He discovered and published documents that outlined corrupt financial transactions and government appointments by New York state officials. He represented the constituency of Haldimand County in the province's legislature from 1851 to 1858, and died in August 1861.