Baron de Blaquiere, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland

Peerage of Ireland

The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

. It was created in 1800 for the politician John Blaquiere, 1st Baron de Blaquiere, Chief Secretary for Ireland

Chief Secretary for Ireland

The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...

 between 1772 and 1777. He had already been created a Baronet, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry, in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1784. He was the son of Jean de Blaquiere, a merchant who emigrated to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1685. Lord de Blaquiere was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Baron. He was a general in the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

. His two sons, the fourth and fifth Barons, both succeeded in the title. The latter was a Captain in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. He was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the sixth Baron. He was the grandson of the Hon. Peter de Blaquière, fourth son of the first Baron. Lord de Blaquiere's two sons were both killed in the First World War and on his death in 1920 the titles became extinct.

The aforementioned the Honourable Peter de Blaquière, fourth son of the first Baron, emigrated to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1837 and was a member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...

 as well as the first chancellor of the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

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Barons de Blaquiere (1800)

• John Blaquiere, 1st Baron de Blaquiere (1732–1812)
• John de Blaquiere, 2nd Baron de Blaquiere (1776–1844)
• William de Blaquiere, 3rd Baron de Blaquiere (1778–1851)
• John de Blaquiere, 4th Baron de Blaquiere (1812–1871)
• William de Blaquiere, 5th Baron de Blaquiere (1814–1889)
• William Barnard de Blaquiere, 6th Baron de Blaquiere (1856–1920)