Frederick Ernest Osborne


Frederick Ernest Osborne was a Canadian politician and businessman.

Life and career

Osborne married Florence Curlette, of Belleville, Ontario, in 1901.
In 1905, Osborne came to Calgary and founded Osborne's Book Store, a retail outlet that sold books, stationary, and school supplies. Osborne's Book Store remained in its original location, 112 8 Avenue SW, until it was destroyed by fire in 1966.
Osborne was actively involved in Calgary politics. He was a city alderman twice, and was elected the 1926 Calgary municipal election the twenty-third mayor of Calgary and served from 1927 to 1929.
Osborne also held leadership roles at many of Calgary's business, service, and social organizations. He was president and district governor of the Calgary Rotary Club from 1921 to 1922, president of the Calgary Board of Trade in 1925, and a member of the board of governors of the University of Alberta from 1923 to 1942. Osborne was a Mason and a Shriner, and a member of the Ranchman's Club, the Calgary Golf and Country Club, and the Glencoe Club.
Frederick Ernest Osborne died in 1948.

Awards

The University of Alberta awarded Osborne an honorary degree of Doctor of Law in 1947.
Osborne was awarded the prestigious Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his leadership role in the War Finance Committee in 1948, a few months before his death.

F.E. Osborne Junior High

In 1961, the Calgary Board of Education honoured Osborne by building a junior-high school in the then new Northwest Calgary community of Varsity. The medium-sized school opened in 1967, and today has been expanded to serve the communities of Hawkwood, Tuscany, Varsity, and Silver Springs.