caption predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place office birth_date term_start image article_title term_end name
james douglas with order of the bath honours richard blanshard frederick seymour arthur edward kennedy 2 august 1877 demerara victoria , british columbia governor of british columbia governor of vancouver island 15 august 1803 1858 1851 sir james douglas.jpg james douglas -lrb- governor -rrb-
 1864 1864 sir james douglas
james douglas -lrb- governor -rrb-

sir james douglas kcb -lrb- august 15 , 1803 -- august 2 , 1877 -rrb- was a company fur-trader and a british colonial governor of vancouver island and british columbia -lrb- b.c. -rrb- in northwestern north america , now part of canada .
douglas had started working in canada at age 16 for the north west company , and later for the hudson 's bay company , becoming a high-ranking company officer .
in the trade he was known as a `` scottish west indian . ''
from 1851 to 1864 , he was governor of the colony of vancouver island .
in 1858 , he also became the first governor of the colony of british columbia , in order to assert british authority during the fraser canyon gold rush , which had the potential to turn the b.c. mainland into an american state .
he remained governor of both vancouver island and british columbia until his retirement in 1864 .
he is often credited as `` the father of british columbia '' .
