Born in 1811 in Pawling, New York, William Howland was educated at Kinderhook Academy. In 1830 he settled in Cooksville, Upper Canada, and became a naturalized British subject in 1841. He operated Lambton Mills and later a grocery business in Toronto. In 1857 Howland became Member of the Assembly of Canada, and later served in the cabinet as Minister of Finance, Receiver General, Postmaster General and Minister of Finance. He became a Member of Parliament in 1867 and was Minister of Inland Revenue from 1867 to 1868. Howland was appointed Ontario's second Lieutenant Governor in 1868 and served until 1873. He was knighted in 1879 and died in Toronto in 1907.