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Many communities in Saskatchewan are named for officials with the railway, or for local individuals, and even a horse (Coronach). Herbert, however, is named for a very famous individual; Sir Michael Henry Herbert, a British ambassador from the late 19th century.
Growing up at Wilton House in Tiltshire, he joined the Diplomatic Service and was sent to Paris when he was 21. While there, he was appointed Third Secretary, and by 1883, was Second Secretary.
On Aug. 31, 1888, he was transferred to Washington, D.C. Eight years later, he was given the Order of the Bath, an order of chivalry, which is the fourth-most senior of the British Orders of Chivalry.
In 1902, he took over as the second British Ambassador to the United States, a post he would serve in until 1903 when he passed away from tuberculosis in Switzerland at the age of only 47.
While ambassador, he worked with the Secretary of State, John Hay, to establish a border between Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. This was very important as gold had been found in the Yukon only a few years previous, and there was a great dispute over where exactly the border between the two countries actually was.
His work helped to establish the Alaskan boundary treaty of 1903.
In 1902, he was awarded the Order of St. Michael and St. George, which is presented to an individual who holds high office, or who has provided an extraordinary service in a foreign country. He was awarded it for his work during the Venezuelan Crisis of 1902-03.
Herbert had married in 1888 to Leila Wilson, the daughter of a prominent cotton broker in New York. Their daughter, Grace, would marry Cornelius Vanderbilt, of the extremely wealthy Vanderbilt family of the United States. One son, Michael, would become a lieutenant in the military, while their other son Sidney would also be knighted and become Sir Sidney Herbert, 1stBaronet. He served as a member of the British Parliament from 1922 to 1939.
