1762-1820

Scottish Explorer

Alexander Mackenzie was a trader who explored northwestern Canada in an effort to open up new territories to the fur trade. In his explorations he traced the 1,100-mile (1,770-km) course of the river now named after him from the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean, near what is now the northern border between Canada and Alaska. He also became the first European explorer to cross the North American continent at its widest point north of Mexico.

Mackenzie was born in Stornoway on the Scottish island of Lewis to a prominent military family. At the age of 12 his family immigrated to New York as part of a large migration of Scots to North America. In New York during the American Revolution his father joined forces loyal to the King of England and died during the revolution. As the war turned against England, the...