Alexander Cameron Rutherford (1857–1941) was the first premier of Alberta. Born in Ormond, Canada West, he became a lawyer in Ottawa before moving to the North-West Territories in 1895. He won a seat in the North-West Legislative Assembly, and in 1905 he was asked to form the new province's first government. As premier, with a majority in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he created the apparatus of government and supported the controversial selection of Edmonton as capital. Faced with labour unrest in the coal mining industry, the government established a commission to examine the problem. A project to develop new railways led to the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal; Rutherford eventually resigned but kept his legislative seat. He was defeated in the 1913 election by Herbert Crawford, a Conservative, but was made King's Counsel afterwards. After leaving politics, he continued his law practice and became chancellor of the University of Alberta until his death by a heart attack.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cameron_Rutherford> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1776: American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York (depicted) broke out during the British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000 buildings. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_New_York_%281776%29> 1934: The Muroto typhoon, the strongest in Japanese history at the time, made landfall on the mainland, killing more than 3,000 and leaving around 200,000 homeless. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_Muroto_typhoon> 1937: J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy children's novel The Hobbit, which later served as a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, was first published. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit> 1968: The Soviet Union's Zond 5 landed in the Indian Ocean, becoming the first spacecraft to safely return to Earth after circling the Moon. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zond_5> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: cheeselet: 1. (chiefly Malta) A small, usually roundish lump of cheese; a baby cheese; specifically, a particular type made with sheep's milk in Malta. 2. (US, archaic) A baked dish of bread and cheese covered with a mixture of eggs and milk. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cheeselet> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song. Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long. --Leonard Cohen <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
