William Lyon Mackenzie

Mackenzie, William Lyon (1795–1861), Canadian journalist and politician. Publisher of the Colonial Advocate (1824–34) and denouncer of the governing clique, the Family Compact, Mackenzie led the Reform Party as the first mayor of Toronto (1834). After subsequent defeat he led them in an unsuccessful revolution (1837). He fled to the United States, but he was imprisoned for violating neutrality laws. He returned to Canada in 1849 after receiving amnesty, and served in Parliament.

See also: Canada.