McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Christie, Alexander James, died 1843
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Born in Scotland, Alexander James Christie was educated at the universities of Aberdeen (M.A.) and Edinburgh, where he studied medicine. In 1817 he came to Canada where he combined medicine with farming and journalism. Christie was editor of the Montreal Herald, 1819-1822, and of the Montreal Gazette, 1823-1824. He moved to Bytown, the site now known as Ottawa, in 1826, where in 1836 he brought out the first issue of the weekly Bytown Gazette, of which he remained owner and editor until his death. Christie was in favour of the union of Upper and Lower Canada, with Bytown as its capital, and waged an intensive campaign in support of this issue.