John Gunion Rutherford was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 veterinarian, civil servant, and politician.

Born in Mountain Cross, Newlands Parish, Peeblesshire

Peeblesshire

Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a county of Scotland. Its main town was Peebles, and it bordered Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.After the local government reorganisation of 1975 the use of the name...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the son of Rev. Robert Rutherford, Rutherford was educated at the High
School in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 and by private tuition. He emigrated to Canada in 1875 and took a course at the Ontario Agricultural College

Ontario Agricultural College

The Ontario Agricultural College originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto...

 and afterwards attended the Ontario Veterinary College

Ontario Veterinary College

The Ontario Veterinary College is the oldest and one of the most well known veterinary school in Canada and North America. It is located on the campus of the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario...

, graduating in 1879 with the rank of Gold Medalist. Settling in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....

, he was President of the Manitoba Liberal Printing Company and the owner of a large veterinary infirmary. During the North-West Rebellion

North-West Rebellion

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

 in 1885, Rutherford served with the Winnipeg Field Battery as a Veterinary Surgeon, and was present at the engagements of Fish Creek

Battle of Fish Creek

The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion...

 and Batoche

Battle of Batoche

The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...

, for which he received the medal and clasp.

In 1892

Manitoba general election, 1892

This was the eighth Manitoba general election and was held on July 23, 1892....

, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 for the electoral district of Lakeside

Lakeside (electoral district)

Lakeside is a provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada. It is located to the immediate northwest of the city of Winnipeg.Traditionally a rural riding, Lakeside has become more urban in recent years . All the same, agriculture accounted for 17% of the riding's industry in 1999...

. A Manitoba Liberal

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

, he served until 1896. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in a 1897 by-election for the electoral district of Macdonald

Macdonald (electoral district)

Macdonald was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1892 to 1949.This riding was created in 1892 from parts of Marquette ridings....

. A Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

, he was defeated in 1900

Canadian federal election, 1900

The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...

. He was appointed Dominion Veterinary Director-General in 1902 and Dominion Livestock Commissioner in 1906. In 1912, he was appointed Superintendent of Agriculture and Animal Industry for the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

.

He was president of the American Veterinary Medical Association

American Veterinary Medical Association

The American Veterinary Medical Association , founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 81,500 U.S. veterinarians working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, academia, and uniformed services....

from 1908 to 1909. From 1918 until his death in 1923, he was a Board of Railway Commissioner and Transport Commissioner.