1. Youth Alexander Mackenzie was born January 28, 1822 in Perthshire, Scotland, the third of ten sons. Forced to leave school to support his family after his father died, Mackenzie was working full-time as a stone-cutter and mason by the age of 13, but continued his education by reading after work. Like many Britons and Scots, he emigrated to Canada in 1842, leaving behind a depression in Great Britain to search for prosperity in Canada. Next page: In Power

PHOTO: Portrait of Alexander Mackenzie, 1868. Topley/National Archives of Canada PA-025303