Alexander Murdoch Mackay

Alexander Murdoch Mackay
Alexander Murdoch Mackay
Born	(1849-10-13)13 October 1849
Died	4 February 1890(1890-02-04) (aged 40) Uganda
Nationality	Scottish
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Occupation	Missionary

Alexander Murdoch Mackay (13 October 1849 – 4 February 1890) was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Uganda known as Mackay of Uganda.

Life[]

Mackay was born on 13 October 1849 in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire,^[1] the son of Rev Alexander Mackay LLD (1813-1895) and his first wife, Margaret Lillie (1825-1865).^[2]

He studied at the at Edinburgh, then at the University of Edinburgh, and finally in Berlin. He displayed a great aptitude for mechanics, and spent several years as a draftsman in Germany.

Mackay decided to become a missionary after Henry Morton Stanley was told by Mutesa I of Buganda that Uganda wanted missionaries. He joined the Church Missionary Society in 1876.^[3] Mackay reached Zanzibar on 30 March 1876, followed by Uganda in November 1878.^{[citation needed]}

He taught various skills to the Ugandan people, including carpentry and farming. He was named Muzungu wa Kazi by the Ugandans. The name means "white man of work."^[3] Mackay's work in Uganda came under threat after came into power. He worked in Uganda until 1890. He became sick with malarial fever and died four days later on 4 February 1890 aged only 40.

Bibliography[]

• Alexander M. Mackay, Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary Society in Uganda; by his Sister. London, 1899.
• A. E. Macdonald (pseud. of Andrew Melrose). Alexander Mackay, Missionary Hero of Uganda. London, 1893.
• Mackay of Uganda. The story of the life of Mackay of Uganda by his sister. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1906. 323 pages.
• Fahs, Sophia Lyon. Uganda's White Man of Work: A Story of Alexander M. Mackay. New York: Young People's Missionary Movement (1907).
• "The Greatest Missionary since Livingstone", an Address by Professor Anthony Low, at St John the Baptist's Parish Church, Canberra, ACT, 15 October 2000.

Notes[]

References[]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Millar, Alexander Hastie (1893). "Mackay, Alexander Murdoch" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 35. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links[]

• Mackay Memorial College
• Alexander Mackay biographies