Robert Lyon - last fatal duel in Canada - 13th June 1833
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| Robert Lyon was born in Inverurie and emigrated to Canada. He was a law student working for his uncle, Mr WM Radenhurst, in
Perth, Canada. He was involved in a fatal duel with John Wilson (who later became
a Judge). |
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Featured on a Canadian
postal franking in 2003.
170 years later. |
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| On Thursday, October 3, 1957 a provincial
plaque commemorating the last fatal duel fought in Ontario was unveiled
in front of the Inderwick House (“Inge-Va”) at 66 Craig Street,
Perth. This plaque is one in a series erected throughout the province
by what was then the Department of Travel and Publicity, now the
Ontario Heritage Foundation, on the advice of the Archaeological
and Historic Sites Board of Ontario. |
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| Speakers at the unveiling ceremony included the Honourable Louis
Breithaupt, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Dr G.F.G. Stanley of
the Royal Military College of Canada and a member of the province’s
Historic Sites Board, and His Worship E.S. Burchall, Mayor of Perth.
The bilingual plaque reads: |
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LAST FATAL DUEL 1833
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| Here died the victim of the last fatal duel fought in this
province, June 13, 1833. |
| Two law students and former friends,
John Wilson and Robert Lyon, quarrelled over remarks made by
the latter concerning a local school teacher, Elizabeth Hughes.
The dispute was aggravated by the prompting of Lyon’s second,
Henry Le Lievre, a bellicose army veteran. Lyon was killed in
the second exchange of shots, while Wilson was acquitted of
a charge of murder, married Miss Hughes, and became a member
of parliament and a judge. |
| Last Fatal Duel 1833 Featured Plaque of the Month, December
2001 |
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| Plaque at 66 Craig Street, Perth - the home of Thomas Radenhurst |
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Historical background
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| The last fatal duel fought in the province
of Ontario took place in Perth in 1833. The participants were two
young law students, Robert Lyon and John Wilson, who at one time
had been close friends. There are varying accounts of what precipitated
the conflict, but the consensus seems to be that Wilson thought
Lyon had made certain slighting remarks about Miss Elizabeth Hughes
whom Wilson regarded very highly. Miss Hughes was at the time a
teacher in Miss Acland’s Select School for Young Ladies in Perth.
One account relates that after harsh words had been exchanged, Lyon,
the stronger of the two, struck Wilson and knocked him down. |
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| Duelling pistols at Perth Museum |
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| The duel was arranged for the morning of June 13, 1833. Neither
of the participants were particularly anxious to proceed and Wilson’s
second, Simon Fraser Robertson, tried to avert the confrontation.
However, matters proceeded on the insistence of Henry La Lievre,
a bellicose army veteran who was acting as Lyon’s second. Lievre
had apparently urged the duel from the beginning and was, according
to at least one source, an unsuccessful suitor for Miss Hughes’
hand. |
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| The duel was held in a glade beside the Tay River, just outside
what were then the town limits, and after an exchange of shots,
Lyon fell mortally wounded. He was carried to the home of his relative,
Mr. Radenhurst, (today, 66 Craig Street) and died at the age of
twenty. Wilson remained in the local jail for three months before
being transferred to Brockville for trial. He defended himself capably
and was acquitted. |
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| Two years later he (John Wilson) was called to the Bar of Upper Canada and with
his wife, the former Betty Hughes, moved to London in the southwestern
region of the province. He was elected to the Assembly of the Province
of Canada in 1847 and sat until defeated in 1851; he won again in
1854, sitting until 1863 when he was elected to the Legislative
Council. That same year he was appointed a Judge of Common Pleas.
He died in 1869. |
| © Ontario Heritage Foundation, 1957, 1989, 2000, 2001 |
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| John Wilson |
| See
Perth Manor Hotel - Robert Lyon Suite |
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The set of duelling pistols used in the duel are on permanent display
at the Perth Museum, Ontario. |
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| 66 Craig Street, Perth, Ontario - the home of Thomas Radenhurst, and site of the plaque |
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| Duelling pistols on display at the Perth Museum, Ontario |
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| Some information provided and based upon research by Jim McTavish,
Barbara Gibson, Reg Lyon, George Mackenzie and Cynthia Milligan.
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