Arthur Thompson Cushing (February 10, 1869 – March 26, 1944) was a politician in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada and a municipal councillor in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. His brother,

William Henry Cushing William Henry Cushing (August 21, 1852 – January 25, 1934) was a Canadian politician. Born in Ontario, he migrated west as a young adult where he started a successful lumber company and later became Alberta's first Minister of Public Works and ...

, was a mayor of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, while another brother, Alfred Cushing, served as alderman in that city.

Biography

Cushing was born in

Kenilworth, Ontario Kenilworth is an unincorporated rural community in Wellington North Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Kenilworth was located in Arthur Township until 1999. A post office has operated continuously in Kenilworth since 1848. History ...

February 10, 1869. He was educated at Essec High School, and earned a B.A. from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1898. He moved to Edmonton in 1900 to manage his brother's lumber business. In 1902 he became manager of the Edmonton branch of Cushing Bros. Ltd., which he would manage until retiring in 1927. The same year, he married Annie Nelson, with whom he would have five children. He first ran for office in the 1902 municipal election, when he finished third of five candidates in the race for alderman and was therefore one of three elected to the

Edmonton Town Council The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...

for a two-year term. At the expiration of his term, at the 1904 election he chose to run for the public school board rather than seeking re-election as alderman. He was elected, and served for one year before running for mayor in the 1905 election. He was defeated by Charles May, and took a hiatus from politics. He returned for the 1909 election, when he was again elected to the public school board, finishing first of seven candidates. He did not run for re-election at the conclusion of his two year term, devoting himself to the construction of a new factory in 1911. He was again elected to the board in the 1917 election, finishing third of seven candidates, but again declined to seek re-election after serving his two year term. In the 1927 election, newly retired from his business, Arthur Cushing returned for a third and final stint as a school trustee. He was re-elected in the

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

elections. He did not seek re-election when his last term ended in 1933. Cushing also served as the president of the Edmonton Board of Trade (now the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce) and the Edmonton Public Hospital. He died in Vancouver on March 26, 1944.

References

Edmonton Public Library Biography of Arthur CushingCity of Edmonton biography of Arthur Cushing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing, Arthur 1869 births 1944 deaths Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Irish descent Edmonton city councillors People from Wellington County, Ontario University of Toronto alumni