Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 8, 2014

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. (Full article...)