Calgary was named by Colonel James Macleod after Calgary, the finest sand beach on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

The original natives of Calgary were the Blackfoot people. The first advent of Europeans is believed to have taken place in 1787, when cartographer David Thompson with a group of Peigan Indians, encamped along the Bow River. The people were rushing to Calgary to hunt buffalo and sell illegal whiskey, by 1860.

John Glenn is believed to be the first European settler in Calgary arriving in 1873. The North West Mounted Police post was set up in Calgary in 1875, to deal with the illegal US whiskey traders. The North West Mounted Police is now called Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Calgary began flourishing as an important commercial and agricultural centre. In 1884, Calgary was incorporated as a town and George Murdoch was elected its first mayor.

By 1914, over one million people had moved to the Prairies and Calgary was its hub. When oil was discovered in 1947, Calgary became its administrative center and through the 60's and 70's, its population almost doubled.

Today, it is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada