Basic Biographical Details | Name: | John Smith Davidson | | Designation: | | | Born: | 25 July 1885 | | Died: | 1 November 1952 | | Bio Notes: | John Smith Davidson was born at Cloffrickford (Cloprickford in Luxton), Savoch of Deer on 25 July 1885, the son of George Davidson, farmer, and Alice Ironside. He was articled to John Rust, City Architect of Aberdeen, in 1900 but appears to have been uninfluenced by his fin de siecle freestyle: his architecture suggests that he was more influenced by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and William Kelly.
Davidson emigrated to Canada to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1905 and remained with it until 1907. It is unclear what he did for the next two years, but he had commenced independent practice by 1909, designing a considerable number of sophisticated classical buildings and Arts and Crafts before prosperity dried up in 1913. These early successes enabled him to marry Lilliam Iris Emmeline Collins in 1911.
Davidson's practice briefly recovered in the mid-1920s only to be stalled by the financial crash of 1929. He had virtually no business in the 1930s, and only small-scale church and domestic work after the Second World War. He died on 1 November 1952 survived by his wife and daughter. | Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | Canada | Business | 1905 | | |
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ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Luxton, Donald (ed.) | 2003 | Building the West: the early architects of British Columbia | | Vancouver: Talon Books | |
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