John William Mitchell (April 19, 1872 – December 15, 1952) was the 17th mayor of Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Early life

Born in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

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in 1872, Mitchell arrived in Calgary in 1891. He had a job with a dry goods business then later with the lumber firm of W. Stuart and Company. Mitchell married Kathleen Lang in June 1913.

Political career

In 1905, Mitchell was elected to

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

as an Alderman representing the original Ward 3, and was subsequently re-elected for four more terms. As an alderman, Mitchell spent time as Chairman of both the Fire and Finance Committees. Mitchell was elected mayor in the December

1910 Calgary Municipal election Year 191 (Roman numerals, CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ' ...

and held office from January 2, 1911 to January 2, 1913. In June 1911, the construction of

Calgary City Hall Calgary City Hall (often called Old City Hall or Historic City Hall), is the seat of government for Calgary City Council, located in the city's downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The historic building completed in 1911 serves as the offic ...

was completed and it was opened by Mitchell, along with leader of the opposition

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

. As mayor, Mitchell hosted the

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Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and Princess Patricia. Mitchell was also the president of the

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

in 1911-1912. During his time as Mayor, Mitchell led the city in staking a mineral claim on oil and gas resources in an attempt to provide a new source of revenue. He supervised a dig on June 12, 1911 which successfully located natural gas, but the city was late in submitting the claim and instead homesteader Michael Stoos filed the claim, which became the famed Dingman Discovery Well in May 1914. Mitchell again became Alderman in 1915, however he resigned on November 22, 1915 to enlist as a member of the 82nd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force for active overseas service during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Later life

Mitchell was a member of the Central Methodist Church. As a longtime member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alberta. Mitchell died in 1952 in

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at the age of 80.https://www.familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22John%20William%22~%20%2Bsurname%3AMitchell~&collection_id=1538285

References

External links

Mitchell, John William Personnel Records of the First World War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John William 1872 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Cambridgeshire Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Militia officers Mayors of Calgary People from Cambridgeshire Calgary city councillors 20th-century Canadian politicians