Edmund Boyd Osler (Ontario politician)
Encyclopedia
Sir Edmund Boyd Osler was a Canadian
banker and politician.
Osler was born at Tecumseh Township
, Simcoe County, Canada West
; he was brother of Britton Bath Osler
(founder of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
), and doctor Sir William Osler
. Their father, Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), the son of a shipowner at Falmouth, Cornwall
, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy
and served on H.M.S. Victory. In 1831 he was invited to serve on H.M.S. Beagle as the science officer on Charles Darwin
's historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands
, but he turned it down as his father was dying. As a teenager Featherstone Osler was aboard H.M.S. Sappho when it was nearly destroyed by Atlantic storms and left adrift for weeks. Serving in the Navy he was ship-wrecked off Barbados
. In 1837 he retired from the Navy and emigrated to Canada
, becoming a 'saddle-bag minister' in rural Upper Canada
. On arriving in Canada he and his bride (Ellen Free Pickton) were nearly ship-wrecked again on Egg Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
. Edmund's great grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a merchant seaman or a pirate, and one of Edmund's uncles, a medical officer in the Navy, wrote the Life of Lord Exmouth and the poem The Voyage.
His career started out as a clerk at the Bank of Upper Canada, where he stayed until 1867, when the bank failed, and then as an independent financier and stockbroker with different partners. He got involved with railway projects and became president of the Ontario and Québec Railway and later also director of the Canadian Pacific Railway
. He was also director of the Toronto General Trusts Company and the Canada North-West Land Company, and president of the Dominion Bank.
In 1896, Osler was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
as a Conservative
representative of West Toronto
. He continued to serve until 1917.
Together with Byron Edmund Walker
and others, Osler participated in the campaign to found an art museum in Toronto
initiated by George Agnew Reid. These efforts were crowned the passing of the Royal Ontario Museum Act in 1912 and on March 19, 1914 with the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum
. Osler donated a large collection of paintings by Paul Kane
, which he had bought in 1903 after the death of its former owner George William Allan
, to the museum already in 1912. He was knighted in 1912.
Osler lived in Toronto at Craigleigh. The family donated the estate to the City of Toronto after Osler's death; it is today the site of Craigleigh Gardens.
His grandson, Edmund Boyd Osler
(b. 1919), was a Liberal
member of the Canadian House of Commons for Winnipeg South Centre
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
banker and politician.
Osler was born at Tecumseh Township
New Tecumseth, Ontario
New Tecumseth is a town in south-central Ontario, in the County of Simcoe. While it is not officially a part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is counted, in terms of the census, as being a part of the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area.-Communities:...
, Simcoe County, Canada West
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; he was brother of Britton Bath Osler
Britton Bath Osler
Britton Bath Osler was a Canadian lawyer and prosecutor.The older of three famous brothers , he was born in Bond Head, Canada West. His father, Featherstone Lake Osler , the son of a shipowner at Falmouth, Cornwall, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served on H.M.S...
(founder of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s largest business law firms practising nationally and internationally from its offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and New York. It is one of Bay Street's "seven sisters". Clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the...
), and doctor Sir William Osler
William Osler
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...
. Their father, Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), the son of a shipowner at Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and served on H.M.S. Victory. In 1831 he was invited to serve on H.M.S. Beagle as the science officer on Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, but he turned it down as his father was dying. As a teenager Featherstone Osler was aboard H.M.S. Sappho when it was nearly destroyed by Atlantic storms and left adrift for weeks. Serving in the Navy he was ship-wrecked off Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. In 1837 he retired from the Navy and emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, becoming a 'saddle-bag minister' in rural Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. On arriving in Canada he and his bride (Ellen Free Pickton) were nearly ship-wrecked again on Egg Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
. Edmund's great grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a merchant seaman or a pirate, and one of Edmund's uncles, a medical officer in the Navy, wrote the Life of Lord Exmouth and the poem The Voyage.
His career started out as a clerk at the Bank of Upper Canada, where he stayed until 1867, when the bank failed, and then as an independent financier and stockbroker with different partners. He got involved with railway projects and became president of the Ontario and Québec Railway and later also director of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. He was also director of the Toronto General Trusts Company and the Canada North-West Land Company, and president of the Dominion Bank.
In 1896, Osler was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as a Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
representative of West Toronto
West Toronto
West Toronto was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the City of Toronto, in the province of Ontario. The district was created by the British North America Act of 1867 and was renamed Toronto West in 1903.West Toronto was...
. He continued to serve until 1917.
Together with Byron Edmund Walker
Byron Edmund Walker
Sir Byron Edmund Walker, CVO was a Canadian banker. He was the president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce from 1907 to 1924, and a generous patron of the arts, helping to found and nurture many of Canada's cultural and educational institutions, including the University of Toronto, National Gallery...
and others, Osler participated in the campaign to found an art museum in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
initiated by George Agnew Reid. These efforts were crowned the passing of the Royal Ontario Museum Act in 1912 and on March 19, 1914 with the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
. Osler donated a large collection of paintings by Paul Kane
Paul Kane
Paul Kane was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Oregon Country....
, which he had bought in 1903 after the death of its former owner George William Allan
George William Allan
George William Allan, was a Canadian politician. His mother Leah Tyrer, daughter of Dr. John Gamble, married Hon. William Allan, of York , U.C. Allan's father, William, was a pioneer who settled what was then the Township of York during John Graves Simcoe's term as Governor...
, to the museum already in 1912. He was knighted in 1912.
Osler lived in Toronto at Craigleigh. The family donated the estate to the City of Toronto after Osler's death; it is today the site of Craigleigh Gardens.
His grandson, Edmund Boyd Osler
Edmund Boyd Osler (Manitoba politician)
Edmund Boyd Osler was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons.He was born in Winnipeg in 1919 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario in 1937, student #2592. He also studied at War Staff College, Royal Canadian Air Force...
(b. 1919), was a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
member of the Canadian House of Commons for Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988.-Geography:...
.
External links
- Photograph from 1916.