Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, was a Scottish peer who sponsored settlements of emigrant Highlanders in British North America. In 1811 he obtained a huge land grant from the Hudson's Bay Company and founded the Red River Colony, which brought him into violent conflict with the North West Company and the Métis. He spent his last years in costly lawsuits over the colony and died in 1820.