Alex Taylor (businessman)

Alexander Taylor (May 17, 1853 – February 12, 1916) was a Canadian entrepreneur, inventor and politician. He is credited as being one of the founders of the city of Edmonton. Taylor was born in on May 17, 1853 in Ottawa, Ontario, and came to Edmonton in 1877. Shortly after his arrival in Edmonton, Taylor established the first telegraph, telephone, and electricity systems. Edmonton asked the Bell Telephone Company to provide services in 1883, but were just offered "a few telephones" and no telephone exchange at a great cost, Taylor, who, at the time was working for the Dominion Telegraph and Signal Service proposed running a telephone line from his office to St. Albert, which was 14 km away. He then purchased two telephones made of Spanish mahogany, and asked store owner Henry William McKenney of St. Albert to keep the device in St. Albert. On January 3, 1885 the two tested the line, the first on Northern Alberta. In 1891, Taylor co-founded Edmonton's first electric company, the Edmonton Electric Light Company. Taylor also co-founded Edmonton's first newspaper, the Edmonton Bulletin with Frank Oliver in 1880. Taylor also served on the Edmonton Public School Board from 1899 to 1909, and was the chairman of the board in 1907.

In 1904, ill health prompted Taylor to sell his telephone company to the City of Edmonton for $17,000, which later became known as Edmonton Telephones. Taylor died on February 12, 1916. He is buried in the Edmonton Cemetery.