Arthur Radcliffe Boswell (3 January 1838 – 16 May 1925) was a

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lawyer and politician, including as

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

Early life and education

Boswell was born in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

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, on 3 January 1838. His father was George Morss Jukes Boswell, a lawyer and judge, and his mother was Susan (). Boswell was educated in the Brockville public school,

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

and the Royal Military School in Toronto. He studied law and became a member of the bar in 1865. Shortly afterwards he started practicing law in Toronto. He was Anglican.

Municipal politics

In 1877 he was elected as alderman for the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

, representing the ward of St George. He was re-elected every year, except in 1880. In 1882 he was chairman of the council's executive committee. In 1883 he won the election to become

mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

against

John Jacob Withrow John Jacob Withrow (1833 – August 5, 1900) was a Toronto businessman and politician. He proposed the first edition of the Canadian National Exhibition and organised the annual event for several years. Withrow was born in York, Upper Canada, ...

, winning by 5 votes. During his term, the city annexed the village of Yorkville. He also tried to convince the council to fund initiatives to clean up and prevent wastewater from entering the

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, but was unsuccessful. The following year he was reelected by acclamation for a second term as mayor. During this second term, Boswell oversaw and hosted the celebrations of the city's 50th anniversary. His enthusiasm during the celebrations was praised, especially because of the large number of events that he attended. He declined to be nominated for a third term, starting a custom of the mayor of Toronto only serving two terms.

Post-municipal career

Boswell returned to working as a lawyer after leaving the mayoralty. In 1911 Boswell was appointed Superintendent of Insurance for Ontario and Registrar of Loan Companies. He was also a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, a trustee for

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

and chairman of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

. He was the commodore of the

Royal Canadian Yacht Club The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) is a private yacht club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1852, it is one of the world's older and larger yacht clubs. Its summer home is on a trio of islands (RCYC Island, South Island and North Chip ...

from 1879 to 1883 and again from 1889 to 1896.

Memorials

Boswell Avenue in Toronto was named after Boswell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Arthur 1838 births 1925 deaths Mayors of Toronto People from Cobourg