Francis Hincks

The Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Hincks, KCMG PC (December 14, 1807 – August 18, 1885) was a Canadian politician and British Governor of Barbados from 1856 to 1862.

Born at Cork in Ireland, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas Dix Hincks and a younger brother of the noted scholars Edward Hincks and William Hincks. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He entered into business in Belfast which brought him to the West Indies and from there in 1832 he came to York (Toronto), setting up an import business. He rented property from William Warren Baldwin and his son, Robert Baldwin, becoming friends with the family. He accepted a job as manager for the Farmer's Bank but became manager of the newly formed Bank of the People after the management of the Farmers' Bank became dominated by Tories. When even moderate reformers were being persecuted following the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, Hincks considered moving to the United States. However, the appointment of Lord Durham in 1838 provided new hope and he chose to continue in Upper Canada. That year, he established The Examiner in Toronto, with the aim of promoting responsible government; this newspaper merged with The Globe, the predecessor of the Globe and Mail, in 1855.