Alexander Murdoch Mackay
Alexander Murdoch Mackay was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Uganda known as Mackay of Uganda.Life
Mackay was born on 13 October 1849 in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, the son of Rev Alexander Mackay LLD and his first wife, Margaret Lillie.
He studied at the Free Church Training School for Teachers 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. Mackay reached Zanzibar on 30 March 1876, followed by Uganda in November 1878.
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." Mackay's work in Uganda came under threat after Kiwewa 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.
