Hector Macpherson Sr. (April 22, 1875 – March 28, 1970) was a Canadian–American academic and politician of Scottish descent. An academic, politician, and dairy farmer in the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, he was the father of Hector Macpherson Jr.

Biography

Early life

Hector Macpherson Sr. was born April 22, 1875 in

Dufferin County Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was the son of Miriam Fairgrieve Macpherson and Alexander Macpherson, native-born Scots who had emigrated to Canada.

Academic career

Hector attended Queen's University, located in Kingston, Ontario, from which he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree."Dr. Macpherson Comes to Oregon,"
''Weekly Gazette-Times'' orvallis, OR vol. 50, no. 36 (Sept. 8, 1911), p. 1. He subsequently studied abroad at the

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

and

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

before returning to the United States to complete his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1908 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. While teaching

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

for two years at the academic rank of Instructor at

Michigan Agricultural College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, Macpherson completed work on his PhD, which he also received from the University of Chicago. Macpherson married the Chicago-born Margaret Buchanan Dupee in April 1911 and the newlywed couple made their way west, where Hector took a position as an

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

Oregon Agricultural College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

(OAC), today's Oregon State University, in the fall of 1911. In April 1913, Macpherson was tapped as one of two official Oregon delegates to the congress of the

International Institute of Agriculture The International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was founded in Rome in 1905 by the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III with the intent of creating a clearinghouse for collection of agricultural statistics. It was created primarily due to the efforts ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

."Will Study Rural Problems Abroad,"
''Daily Oregon Statesman''

alem : Alem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Maasdriel, and lies about 10 km north of 's-Hertogenbosch. It used to part of the province in North Brabant. In 1934, it became part of Gelderland. ...

vol. 63, no. 5 (April 2, 1913), p. 8. As part of his three-month fact-finding tour, funded by the Oregon state legislature at the behest of the Oregon State Grange, Macpherson traveled to eight European countries studying the cooperative credit system as applied to agriculture. Following his return, Macpherson penned a series of articles in the Portland '' Oregonian'' detailing the specifics and potential cost-savings of cooperation as practiced in Denmark and Germany. In August 1913, Oregon Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the mo ...

again named Macpherson an official delegate to a Congress on Rural Credits and Farm Life, scheduled to be held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

that same fall. Macpherson continued to teach economics and sociology ("political economy") at OAC until 1926.

Political career

He was first elected to the state

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

in 1927 and reelected in 1929 as a progressive

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Together with Henry Zorn, Macpherson sponsored a School Moving Bill in 1932. The ballot initiative proposed consolidating

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

with the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, and moving other state-funded schools to different cities. The initiative proposal was defeated. Macpherson was elected to a final term in 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, Hector 1 1875 births 1970 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian expatriates Canadian people of Scottish descent Expatriates in the German Empire Farmers from Oregon Oregon State University faculty Politicians from Albany, Oregon People from Dufferin County Queen's University at Kingston alumni Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives University of Chicago alumni