Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Thomas Underwood, 1863-1948, was born in Leicester, England. He came to Canada in 1883, and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1885. He worked for a lumbermill for two years before opening his own building construction business in 1887. His firm built the first Bank of Montreal, Pat Burns' mansion, the Underwood Block and many other prominent Calgary buildings. In 1888, he married Kate Graves and they had six children. He served as mayor of Calgary from 1902 to 1903.
In 1906 he established the Diamond Coal Company, which operated a mine at Diamond City near Lethbridge. The mine went bankrupt in 1913. In 1915, T. Underwood Ltd., a rental agency, was established by Underwood and his wife. He managed it until 1947 when his son, Clifford, 1903-1993, took over. Underwood was very active in the Baptist Church, YMCA, YWCA, and the Chinese Mission.