Alexander Cameron Rutherford (1857–1941) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the first Premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910. He began his political career in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. When the province of Alberta was created, Rutherford was asked to form its first government, and then won the 1905 election. The apparatus of provincial government was established under Rutherford, and Edmonton was controversially selected as Alberta's capital over Calgary. The government faced labour unrest in the coal mining industry, and established a commission to examine the problem. It also tried to encourage the development of new railways. Early in 1910, William Henry Cushing's resignation as Minister of Public Works precipitated the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal, which turned many of Rutherford's Liberals against his government. He was forced to resign. He later became chancellor of the University of Alberta, whose earlier founding had been a personal project. A University of Alberta library, an Edmonton elementary school, and Mount Rutherford are named in his honour. His home, Rutherford House, is now a museum.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cameron_Rutherford
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1579:
Our Lady of Kazan (pictured), a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in Kazan, present-day Tatarstan, Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Kazan
1709:
Great Northern War: Peter I of Russia defeated Charles XII of Sweden in Poltava, effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava
1889:
The first issue of The Wall Street Journal, the world's most circulated business daily newspaper, was published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal
1947:
After various news agencies reported the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S. Army Air Force personnel in Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated that what was actually recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude surveillance weather balloon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident
1994:
Upon the death of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il became the Supreme Leader of North Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
maw: 1. The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of a ravenous creature. 2. Any great, insatiable or perilous opening. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maw
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Come to the bridal chamber, Death, Come to the mother's, when she feels, For the first time, her first born's breath; Come, when the blessed seals That close the pestilence are broke, And crowded cities wail its stroke: Come in consumption's ghastly form, The earthquake shock, the ocean storm; Come when the heart beats high and warm With banquet song and dance and wine; And thou art terrible: — the tear, The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier, And all we know, or dream, or fear, Of agony, are thine. But to the hero, when his sword Has won the battle for the free, Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word, And in its hollow tones are heard The thanks of millions yet to be. --Fitz-Greene Halleck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fitz-Greene_Halleck