Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and the sixth Governor General of Canada
1841 CE to 1908 CE
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, KG, GCB, GCVO, PC (January 15, 1841 – June 14, 1908) styled as Hon. Frederick Stanley from 1844–86 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886–93, is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who serves as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893.
An avid sportsman, he builds Stanley House Stables in England and is famous in North America for presenting Canada with the Stanley Cup.
Stanley is also one of the original inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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A 405-hectare (1,001-acre) public park that borders the downtown of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada and is mostly surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, the park has a long history and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city.
The land was originally used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before British Columbia was colonized by the British during the 1858 Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
For many years after colonization, the future park with its abundant resources had also been home to non-Indigenous settlers.
The land was later turned into Vancouver's first park when the city incorporated in 1886.
It is named after Lord Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, a British politician who had recently been appointed Governor General.
It was originally known as Coal Peninsula and was set aside for military fortifications to guard the entrance to Vancouver harbor.
In 1886 Vancouver city council had successfully sought a lease of the park which was granted for $1 per year.
In September 1888 Lord Stanley opens the park in his name.
Stanley's sons had become avid ice hockey players in Canada, playing in amateur leagues in Ottawa, and Lord and Lady Stanley have become staunch hockey fans.
The Stanley Cup is known originally as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.
Stanley, Governor General of Canada, donates the trophy as a challenge cup for Canada's best amateur hockey club, but in 1909, it will become contested by professional teams exclusively.
In 1915, professional ice hockey organizations National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) will reach a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions will face each other annually for the Stanley Cup.
It will be established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then as the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
After the Lord Stanley of Preston was appointed by Queen Victoria as Governor General of Canada on June 11, 1888, he and his family had become highly enthusiastic about ice hockey.
Stanley was first exposed to the game at Montreal's 1889 Winter Carnival, where he saw the Montreal Victorias play the Montreal Hockey Club.
During this time, organized ice hockey in Canada is still in its infancy and only Montreal and Ottawa have anything resembling leagues.
Stanley's entire family has become active in ice hockey.
Two of his sons, Arthur and Algernon, had formed a new team called the Ottawa Rideau Hall Rebels.
Arthur also plays a key role in the formation of what later became known as the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), and will become the founder of ice hockey in Great Britain.
Arthur and Algernon had persuaded their father to donate a trophy to be "an outward and visible sign of the hockey championship".
Stanley will never see a Stanley Cup championship game, nor will he ever present the Cup.
Although his term as Governor General will end in September 1893, he will be forced to return to England on July 15, following the death, in April, of his elder brother Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, who Stanley succeeds as the 16th Earl of Derby.