Background
Linder was born at Darlington, Wisconsin 5 August 1907, to a circus performer who had emigrated from Switzerland to North America.
Linder was born at Darlington, Wisconsin 5 August 1907, to a circus performer who had emigrated from Switzerland to North America.
The family later moved to Cardston, Alberta, Canada, where the young Linder began to ride young steers and unbroken horses for amusement. He soon began to dominate the sport, becoming known as "King of the Cowboys" in the 1930s, winning the Canadian all-round championship 7 times, and the North American championship 5 times in a row. In 1936, Linder joined 60 other cowboys in staging a rodeo cowboy strike at the Boston Garden.
This action led to the birth of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Later he was involved in the foundation of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. Following his retirement as a competing cowboy, Linder produced rodeo competitions, including one presented at Expo 67 in Montréal, Quebec.
He died at Cardston, Alberta, on 18 January 2001.
Linder became a member of the (American) National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1980, and was made an honorary chief of the Blood Indians.