Alfred Ernest Cross (June 26, 1861 – March 10, 1932) was a Canadian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, rancher and

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

, known as one of the Big Four who founded the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

in 1912.

Early life

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Cross was the oldest of seven children. He trained as a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...

. Cross moved to

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

in 1884 to work at a

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

near what is now

Cochrane, Alberta Cochrane ( ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The town is located west of the Calgary city limits along Alberta Highway 1A, Highway 1A. Cochrane is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, and with a pop ...

owned by Matthew Henry Cochrane. In 1899 he married Helen Rothney Macleod (1878-1959), the daughter of

North-west Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

Commissioner Colonel James Macleod, who gave Calgary its name.

Business

By 1886 Cross owned his own ranch, the A7 Ranche, located near what is now Nanton, Alberta. Cross returned to Montreal for hospital treatment for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. He returned to Calgary in 1891 holding a diploma that he had been trained as a

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

and established the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, the first brewery in what was then the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Ranchmen's Club

That same year Calgary's oldest and most exclusive club, the Ranchmen's Club, was established; and A.E. Cross was a founding member.

Politics

In 1898, Cross entered politics, and was elected as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for East Calgary. Cross was active in community affairs, serving as a director and president of Calgary General Hospital, as president of the Alberta Exhibition Association, and as president of the Calgary

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

(now Calgary Chamber of Commerce) in 1909.

Calgary Stampede

In the summer of 1912, Cross, along with Patrick Burns, George Lane, and Archie McLean ("The Big Four") put up the combined amount of $100,000 to finance the first

held in September 1912

Legacy

Cross died in 1932. The following have been dedicated in his name: *A.E. Cross Junior High School located in Calgary, Alberta. *The Big Four Building at the Stampede Grounds in Calgary, Alberta.

References

External links

A Business History of Alberta by Henry C. Klassen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Alfred Ernest 1861 births 1932 deaths Politicians from Montreal Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Canadian cattlemen 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories