William Luxton

William Fisher Luxton (12 December 1844 – 20 May 1907) was a Canadian teacher, newspaper editor and publisher, politician, and office holder. He is most well known for founding the Manitoba Free Press.

Life Born in Bampton, Devon, England, his mother was Jane Palmer Luxton (1819–1859), daughter of Thomas Luxton (1773-1840) and Jenny Palmer (1791–1860), of Hutchings Farm, Bampton, Petton, Devonshire. William was baptized on December 26, 1843 at St. John the Baptist Church, Skilgate, Somerset, where his mother was visiting with other members of the Luxton family for the Christmas holiday. In the 1851 English census William, age 7, was recorded residing at "Hutchings" with his uncle Thomas Luxton (1825–1849) and his grandmother Jenny.

Luxton migrated to British North America in about 1855, and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1871. In 1871, he moved to Winnipeg to teach in the first school established under the provisions of the Manitoba Schools Act of 1871. In 1866, he married Sarah Jane Edwards of Lobo Township, Canada West, and had six sons and two daughters. One of his sons, Norman Luxton, was later known as "Mr. Banff" and founded the Crag and Canyon newspaper.

In 1901, Luxton returned to Winnipeg and served as inspector of public buildings for the Government of Manitoba until his death. His funeral procession was one of the longest in Winnipeg's history, with the Typographical Union providing a guard of honour.

In the fall of 1907, in recognition of one of the city's earliest teachers, Luxton School which backs on to the street that also bears his name in Winnipeg's North End was named after him.