Edmund Boyd Osler (Ontario politician)

Osler was born in 1845 at Bond Head near Tecumseh Township, Simcoe County, Canada West. He was the fourth son of the Reverend Featherstone Lake Osler, a former lieutenant in the Royal Navy turned Anglican clergyman, and his wife Ellen Free Pickton. Osler attended grammar school in Dundas. Unlike his elder brothers, he did not attend university. == Financial career ==

In the late 1850s, Osler began his career as a clerk at the Bank of Upper Canada. The bank failed in 1866. == Political career ==

Due to his financial success, many believed that Osler should enter politics. Osler began his political career in the 1892 mayoralty race. He lost to R.J. Fleming despite having the support of the Toronto establishment. Osler ran in the 1896 federal election and was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Conservative representative of West Toronto. He served as an MP until 1917. Osler was knighted in 1912. == Later life ==

After his political retirement, Osler continued to have an active involvement in Canadian business. By 1921, Osler concurrently held directorships in eight companies, presidencies in another three, and vice-presidency in one. Osler died in 1924 at the age of 78. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at nearly $4 million. In the years prior to his death, Osler had promised money to his friends to support various funds and causes which were posthumously covered by his estate. == Philanthropy ==

Beginning in the 1870s Osler became involved with philanthropy. His expertise as a successful businessman helped fund and support important causes related to arts, cultures, and health in the city of Toronto. Osler became a trustee for the Hospital for Sick Children in 1878. He also helped fund the new Toronto General Hospital. Osler was a founder and generous benefactor to the Royal Ontario Museum. Together with George Agnew Reid, Byron Edmund Walker and others, Osler participated in the campaign to found an art museum in Toronto in the early 1900s. Osler began his involvement on a trip to Egypt from 1906 to 1907 where he met Charles T. Currelly, archaeologist and future director of the Royal Ontario Museum. In 1909 Osler personally pledged $50 000 over five years to assist with the collection of artefacts for the future museum. Osler would further contribute in 1912 by donating a large collection of paintings by Paul Kane to the cause. Through Osler’s and others influence, the Crown passed the Royal Ontario Museum Act in 1912 which led to the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum in 1914. Osler's descendants, the Matthews family, continue to support the Royal Ontario Museum to the present day. The Royal Ontario Museum's Sir Edmund Osler Gate to the wing of the Matthews Family Court of Chinese Sculpture is named after him. == Personal life ==

Osler was born at Tecumseh Township, Simcoe County, Canada West and grew up in the area of present-day Hamilton, Ontario. His brothers were lawyer Britton Bath Osler (founder of what is now Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt) and doctor Sir William Osler. Osler was a close personal friend of Canadian railway magnate Hugh Ryan and served as one of his pallbearers —alongside Ontario politician, William Harty; Conservative Senator, James Mason; Ontario Banker, W.S. Lee; and Canadian businessman Eugene O'Keefe —at his funeral held in St Michael's Cathedral Basilica in 1899. Osler descended from a British family with a long naval tradition. Edmund's great grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a merchant seaman or a pirate. One of Edmund's uncles served as a medical officer in the Navy and wrote the Life of Lord Exmouth and the poem The Voyage. Osler’s father was Featherstone Lake Osler (1805–1895). Featherstone was the son of a ship owner from Falmouth, Cornwall. Featherstone formerly served in the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant on the H.M.S. Victory. In 1831 Featherstone Osler was invited to serve on H.M.S. Beagle as the science officer on Charles Darwin's historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands, but turned it down as his father was dying. Featherstone retired from the navy in 1837 and emigrated to Canada. Featherstone married Ellen Free Pickton and they had four sons, Edmund was their youngest. In Canada, Featherstone became an Anglican Reverend. == References ==