For George Peter Murdock, the Yale scholar, see George Murdock

George Murdock

George Peter Murdock was a notable American anthropologist. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethnological studies and his landmark works on Old World populations.-Early life:...

George Murdoch (April 29, 1850 – February 2, 1910) was the first mayor of Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

District of Alberta

The District of Alberta was one of four districts of the Northwest Territories created in 1882. It was styled the Alberta Provisional District to distinguish it from the District of Keewatin which had a more autonomous relationship from the NWT administration...

. He was born in Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and died in Calgary, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

.

Murdoch's family immigrated to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1854 and settled in Saint John

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. He spent much of his earlier years in New Brunswick. Here he married his wife Margaret, and together they had their first two children in the province. In total, they had at least three sons and two daughters.

On May 13, 1883, Murdoch moved to Calgary. This was just months before the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 had reached the community in August. In Calgary, he started a successful harness shop. As Calgary was at its early stages, his main clientele were the North West Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 based in Fort Calgary

Fort Calgary

Fort Calgary was established in 1875 as Fort Brisebois by the North-West Mounted Police, located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in what is now Calgary, Alberta.-History:...

 and Blackfoot

Blackfoot

The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....

 Indians who had a reserve nearby. He was on good terms with the Blackfoot, and had learned to speak their language.

In the community, Murdoch was involved with the Masonic Lodge

Masonic Lodge

This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...

 and the Orange Order in Canada

Orange Order in Canada

The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and has lodges in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, Togo, the U.S.A, etc..-History:...

, literary and history societies, volunteer fire brigade, was one of the founders of Calgary's Presbyterian Church and the first President of the Calgary St. Andrew's Society. Being one the first permanent businessmen in Calgary, he was an active participant in securing the incorporation of Calgary from the government of the North-West Territories in November 1884. On December 4, 1884, he became the first mayor of the Town of Calgary. He held this post until October 21, 1886. Murdoch was disqualified from the 1886 election after an unsubstantiated allegation was made that he had tampered with votes.

Murdoch also served as town Councillor from 1889 to 1890 and city Alderman from 1895 to 1896.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online