Alexander Muir | |
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Born | 5 April 1830 Lesmahagow, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Died | 26 June 1906 Toronto |
(aged 76)
Occupation | songwriter, poet, school headmaster |
Alexander Muir (5 April 1830 – 26 June 1906) was a Canadian songwriter, poet, soldier, and school headmaster.[1] He was the composer of The Maple Leaf Forever, which he wrote in October 1867 to celebrate the Confederation of Canada.[2]
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Muir immigrated to Toronto from Lesmahagow in 1833. He grew up in Toronto, Ontario where he was educated by his father. Muir later studied at Queen's College, where he graduated in 1851.[3]
Muir taught in the Greater Toronto Area in such places as Scarborough and Toronto, as well as in Newmarket, Beaverton, and in then suburban areas as Parkdale and Leslieville, where he lived on Laing Avenue.
From 1860-1870, he was principal of Leslieville School in Toronto and He was later (1888-1901) principal of Toronto's Alexander Muir/Gladstone Junior and Senior Public School (renamed after his death in his honour).
Muir was a noted Canadian Orangeman. He also served with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, and fought with them at the Battle of Ridgeway. He wrote The Maple Leaf Forever while serving with the regiment.
A formal garden and park just south of Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue in Toronto is named in his honour. Maple Leaf Forever Park is in Toronto near his former home at Laing Avenue and Leslie Street.
Schools have been named after him in Scarborough, Newmarket, and Sault Ste. Marie.