The 4th Earl Grey was the first of the governors general to visit Newfoundland. Thought it wasn't part of Canada yet, he did issue an invitation to join. Newfoundlanders didn't so so till nearly 40 years later, in 1949 to be exact.
The brother-in-law of Lord Minto, the previous governor general, Grey was the son of a secretary to Queen Victoria. He was born in St. James's Palace and educated at Harrow and then Trinity College Cambridge.
Earl Grey was a strong supporter of the British Empire, and he toured its possessions extensively. He was a close friend of the diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes, who appointed him Commissioner to Zimbabwe (then called Rhodesia).
A product of the British aristocratic schooling traditions, Lord Grey took a great interest in sports, and instituted the iconic Grey Cup for the winners of the CFL finals each year.
During his tenure, the 300th anniversary of Quebec city was celebrated, and Grey took part enthusiastically. He arranged to have the Plains of Abraham dedicated as a national park and was instrumental in preserving other historic sites as well.
Because he enjoyed his Canadian post and was popular here, his term was extended. Governor-General Earl Grey served from 1904 to 1911.
He was not, however, the Earl Grey of the tea. That honour belongs to an ancestor, Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, who served as the Prime Minister of Britain in the 1830s. According to the Oxford dictionary, the name of the tea, a mixture of black tea and bergamot, did not come into common use until the early 20th century.
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