Ishbel Maria Marjoribanks Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair and known as Lady Aberdeen, was born in 1857, the daughter of the first Baron Tweedmouth. She married the first Marquis of Aberdeen in 1877, who became Lord Aberdeen, Governor-General of Canada, in 1893 and remained in that office for the next five years.

Lady Aberdeen was active in philanthropic and educational work along many paths for nearly sixty years. She was president of the International Council of Women for nearly forty years, from 1893-1899, and then again from 1904-1936. She was also president of the Irish Industries Association, the Women's National Health Association of Ireland, and the Onward and Upward Association, and for a number of years she was the chairperson of the Scottish Council for Women's Trades. In Canada, Lady Aberdeen founded the Victorian Order of Nurses and took a leading role in the formation of the National Council of Women of which she was the first president. She died in Scotland in 1939.

"William Lyon Mackenzie King had a long political career. He was leader of the Liberal Party for 29 eventful years through the buoyant expansion of the 1920s, the depression of the 1930s, the shock of World War II, and then the post-war reconstruction, and for 21 of these years he was Canada’s prime minister. His decisions during this time contributed significantly to the shaping of Canada and to its development as an influential middle power in world affairs. During his lifetime his achievements were sometimes obscured by a style notable for its compromises. After his death his political career was sometimes overshadowed by the revelation of his unsuspected personal idiosyncrasies."