View source for James Cameron Watson

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Infobox politician
|name = James Cameron Watson
|image = Watson James Cameron.jpg
|imagesize= 180px
|office= [[Mayor of Calgary]]
|predecessor=[[Andrew Davison]]
|successor=[[Donald Hugh Mackay]]
|term_start=January 1, 1946
|term_end=December 31, 1949
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1890|10|21}}
|birth_place=   [[Lexington, Kentucky]], U.S.
|death_date= {{death date and age|1986|11|1|1890|10|21}}
|death_place= [[Lethbridge, Alberta]], Canada
|spouse=
|occupation=electrician
|religion=
}}
'''James Cameron Watson''' (October 21, 1890 &ndash; November 1, 1986) was a Canadian politician, [[electrician]] and [[Mayor of Calgary|25th Mayor of Calgary]].
==Early life==
Watson was born October 21, 1890, in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], to British parents.<ref>[https://archive.today/20140226035720/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e.php?image_url=http://data2.archives.ca/cef/gpc017/658941a.gif&id_nbr=304328 World War I Attestation Paper]</ref> He was educated in Boston, New York and Halifax and became a telephone journeyman electrician. Watson moved to Alberta to work in a coal mine, however a serious injury forced him back into the telephone industry. Watson was employed by [[Bell Telephone Company|Bell Telephone]] and later, [[Alberta Government Telephones]], where he became a member of the Brotherhood of Electric Workers, and eventually chairman of the Calgary Labor Council.<ref name="CgyHld1986Peach">{{cite news |last1=Peach |first1=Jack |title=Watsons' appear attracted to civic government |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=December 27, 1986 |page=F8}}</ref><ref name="MayorGallery">{{Cite web |url=http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/cityclerks/cmayors.pdf |title=Mayors' Gallery |archive-date=April 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080411025822/http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/cityclerks/cmayors.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=City of Calgary}}</ref>
==Military service==
In 1916, at the age of 25, Watson enlisted in the [[First World War]] with the [[56th Battalion (Calgary), CEF|56th Battalion]], and later, the [[50th Battalion (Calgary), CEF|50th Battalion]] as a [[Lewis gun|Lewis gunner]] where he participated in the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]] in April 1917. Watson was transferred to the Signal Corps where he continued to see combat on the Western front at [[The Somme]], [[Second Battle of Passchendaele|Paschendale]], [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Amiens]] and at [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Cambrai]], where he was wounded in both legs.<ref name="CgyHld1986Peach"/>
==Political life==
Owing to his profile in the labour community, Watson was first elected to [[Calgary City Council]] in 1943 as an Alderman, and served through to 1945. Friends convinced Watson to contest the 1945 election, and he agreed to run conceding that he would most likely lose. To his surprise, Watson won the election and became the 25th Mayor of Calgary in 1945, and held that office for until he was defeated by [[Donald Hugh Mackay]] in the 1950 municipal election.<ref name="CgyHld1986Peach"/><ref name="MayorGallery"/> Watson was known for the purchase of Coste House which became the Allied Arts Centre, a space for artists and artisans. Watson was the deciding vote on the decision not to relocate the Calgary General Hospital to downtown, and instead the investment was used to expand the hospital. As well, during Watson's term, the City first installed [[parking meters]].<ref name="CgyHld1986Peach"/>
==Later life==
Watson retired from public life and remained active in the labour movement in Calgary, and later moved to [[Lethbridge]], where he died on November 1, 1986.<ref name="CgyHld1986Peach"/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Andrew Davison]]|
title=[[List of mayors of Calgary, Alberta|Mayor of Calgary]]|
years=1946–1949|
after=[[Donald Hugh Mackay]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Calgary Mayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, James Cameron}}
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:Mayors of Calgary]]
[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers]]
[[Category:Canadian electricians]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Canada]]