Alexander Muir

In 1833 Muir immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, from Lesmahagow, Scotland, where he grew up and he was educated by his father. Muir later studied at Queen's College, where he graduated in 1851.[3]

Alexander Muir at about 25 years of age, wearing his Scottish tartan

Muir taught in the Greater Toronto Area in such places as Scarborough and Toronto, as well as in Newmarket, Beaverton, and in then suburban areas as Parkdale and Leslieville, where he lived on Laing Avenue.

During the early 1870s, Alexander Muir was an elementary school teacher in Newmarket. When the cornerstone of the Christian Church in Newmarket was being laid on June 25, 1874, by the Governor General, Lord Dufferin, Muir brought his school choir to the event to sing his new composition The Maple Leaf Forever, its first public performance.

From 1860 to 1870, he was principal of Leslieville School in Toronto. He was later (1888-1901) principal of Toronto's Alexander Muir/Gladstone Junior and Senior Public School (renamed after his death in his honour).

Muir was a noted Canadian Orangeman.[4] He joined The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in 1860 and served as Lieutenant in No. 10 (Highland) Company, fighting with them at the Battle of Ridgeway being wounded in the arm. He was later awarded the Canada General Service Medal. He also wrote The Maple Leaf Forever while he was serving with the regiment.

No.10 Company, Queens Own Rifles, after the Battle of Ridgeway 1866

Gladstone School and students. Alexander Muir (principal) seated at right. 1902.

Although Muir's musical activities were on an amateur level, they were strongly emphasized along with athletics and patriotism during his teaching career. Muir wrote several songs about Canada during his career, including Canada Forever and Young Canada Was Here, but his most enduring composition was The Maple Leaf Forever written in 1867, the year of Confederation. Muir originally wrote the poem for a patriotic poetry contest in Montreal, winning second prize. He then looked for an existing melody that would fit, a very common practice (it was not unusual for a poem printed in a journal to bear the statement "May be sung to the tune of..."). When he failed to find a suitable tune, Muir wrote the music himself.[5]

Flowerbeds in bloom in the Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens

• Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens, a formal garden and park, just south of Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue in the Lawrence Park neighbourhood of Toronto, is named in his honour.
• Maple Leaf Forever Park is in the rear of Maple Cottage at 62 Laing Street, near Leslie Street and Queen Street East in Toronto.
• Schools which have been named after him are:
  • Alexander Muir/Gladstone Ave Junior and Senior Public School, 108 Gladstone Ave., Toronto[6]
  • Alexmuir Junior Public School, 95 Alexmuir Blvd., Scarborough[7]
  • Alexander Muir Public School, 75 Ford Wilson Blvd., Newmarket[8]
  • formerly Alex Muir Public School, 188 Kohler St., Sault Ste Marie[9] which has now been repurposed into a 16 unit apartment building.[10]
• Three maple leaf symbols were honored after him is affixed in the crest of Woburn Collegiate Institute.
• Mount Muir in Alberta/British Columbia is named for him.[11]

Bibliography

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Alexander Muir

• Media related to Alexander Muir at Wikimedia Commons
• The Maple Leaf Forever MP3
• The Maple Leaf Forever MIDI File
• The Maple Leaf Forever Johnson, Edward, 1878-1959