James Murray Yale

James Murray Yale
Born	c. 1798 Lachine, Quebec, Lower Canada
Died	7 May 1871(1871-05-07) (aged 72–73) Saanich, Colony of British Columbia
Nationality	Canadian, Anglophone Quebec
Occupation(s)	Chief trader, Clerk
Spouse	Unknown
Children	3
Family	Yale

James Murray Yale (c. 1798 – 7 May 1871) was a clerk, and later, a Chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, during the late North American fur trade, as they were competing with the Montreal-based North West Company and the American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor. During his career, he would negotiate and compete with Americans, French Canadians, Russians, and Indians for market shares. He is best remembered for having given his name to Fort Yale, British Columbia, which became the city of Yale during the gold rush, and later on, became the name of the Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver.^[1]

Yale also became Chief Factor of the Columbia District, opposing Astor's Pacific Fur Company and NWC's dominance along the Columbia department, including the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Country.^[2] Notably, the Colony of British Columbia was created at his fort in 1858, with Sir James Douglas elected as first Governor, and the fort as capital.