Vancouver’s Stanley Park is named after Lord Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, the British politician who served as Governor General of the Dominion of Canada from 1888 to 1893.
After Vancouver was incorporated as a city in 1886, the city council negotiated to lease what was then a 405-hectare (or 1,001-acre) military reserve from the Dominion government to create a public park.
The park opened in 1888 and Lord Stanley visited Vancouver in October 1889 to formally dedicate and name it Stanley Park. Lord Stanley’s words that day are inscribed on his statue which stands in Stanley Park and was unveiled in 1960:
To the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds and customs for all time.
I name thee Stanley Park
It is the same Lord Stanley who donated a silver rose bowl as an award to Canada’s top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, which became known as the Stanley Cup. Stanley Park in Liverpool, England, is also named after Lord Stanley.
