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Sir John Maxwell Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, QC, DCL, LL.D, the first Prime Minister of Canada, was born on January 11, 1815 in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was Hugh Macdonald, an unsuccessful merchant, who met his mother, Helen Shaw, in 1811. After the failure of his father's business ventures, his family emigrated to Kingston, Upper Canada in 1820 along with thousands of others seeking affordable land and promises of new prosperity. Hugh's fortunes were to rise there. When John was 10, he was sent off to Midland Grammar School, in Kingston, Ontario.