Sir Kenneth William Blackburne GCMG GBE (12 December 1907 – 4 November 1980) was a British colonial official who was the first governor-general of Jamaica.

[1] Blackburne entered the colonial service in 1930 and served in Nigeria, Palestine and the Gambia.

He then served in the West Indies from 1943 to 1947 and subsequently as director of colonial information services in London from 1947 to 1950, before returning to the West Indies.

When Jamaica received its independence in August 1962, Blackburne was appointed as the Governor-General; he served in that position for three months till 30 November 1962 when his Jamaican replacement, Clifford Campbell, took office.

[1] On 18 May 1935, Blackburne married Bridgette Senhouse Constant, the daughter of James Mackay Wilson and Alice (née Goldie-Taubman).