Alexander Chalmers

Alexander Chalmers (1645 – 9 March 1703; Polish: Aleksander Czamer) was a merchant, jurist, and city mayor and councilor. He was the mayor of Old Warsaw (now part of Warsaw, Poland) from 1691 to 1692, from 1694, 1696, and from 1702 to 1703, and the member of the Old Warsaw City Council from 1688 to 1690, from 1692 to 1694, and from 1697 to 1701. Biography Alexander Chalmers was born in 1645, in Dyce, Kingdom of Scotland (now part of the United Kingdom). He was of Scottish descent. At some point he converted to the Roman Catholicism. He emigrated to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1659, at the age of 14. He eventually settled in the city of Old Warsaw (now part of Warsaw, Poland). There he married Krystyne Legowna and they both engaged in the textile trade. They both became citizens of the city in 1672. He also began using Polonised version of his name, which was Aleksander Czamer. In 1676, King John III Sobieski confirmed the rights of the eight Scottish merchants who served his court, including Chalmers. Later in life, he remarried with Christina Lang. He was also a leader of the Scottish community in Old Warsaw. He became involved in municipal activities in 1679. From 14 January 1681 to 1682, he was a member of the Board of Twenty of Old Warsaw, and from 1688 to 1690, from 1692, 1694, and from 1697 to 1701, he was a member of the Old Warsaw City Council. From 1687, he was also the treasurer of Old Warsaw. On 22 February 1691, he was elected as the mayor of Old Warsaw, and served his first term until 1692. He served three more terms; in 1694, in 1696, and from 1702 to 1703. He was also the wójt of Old Warsaw in 1701.