Robert Chambers "Bob" Edwards (September 17, 1860 – November 14, 1922) was a Canadian newsman, humorist, editorialist, entrepreneur, and provincial politician. He is best known, as the writer and publisher of the early 1900s weekly newspaper, the Calgary Eye Opener.

Personal life and education

Edwards was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Little is known about any siblings, beyond the fact that he had an older brother, Jack. Edwards' mother, Mary Chambers, survived his birth by only a few weeks. His father, Alexander Mackenzie Edwards

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

, an Edinburgh surgeon and medical author, died in 1868 while on a world cruise. He was raised by unmarried aunts, and attended school in St. Andrews and Edinburgh before spending time at Glasgow University. His mother's father, Dr. Robert Chambers, was a founder of the Scottish publishing house W. & R. Chambers. After 25 years in Canada he married Katherine Penman, a 20-year-old newly arrived from Scotland.

Career

Journalism

In 1881 and 1882, Edwards put out a tourist periodical, ''The Channel'', aimed at visitors to the French Riviera. He returned to Scotland and worked for a time with the Glasgow city clerk, Sir James David Marwick. Edwards and his brother Jack later decided to emigrate to North America in 1892. Edwards settled in the village of Wetaskiwin, and founded a newspaper, the ''Free Lance'', which he published for four years.David Mittelstadt.
Foundations of Justice: Alberta's Historic Courthouses
'. University of Calgary Press; 2005. . p. 134–. He then moved to Strathcona, where he published a newspaper.Paul Leonard Voisey.
High River and the Times: An Alberta Community and Its Weekly Newspaper, 1905-1966
'. University of Alberta; 2004. . p. 28–. Edwards moved to High River and on March 4, 1902 began publishing a newspaper there. At first he called his paper ''The Chinook'', but as the paper became known for its satirical content, he changed the name to the ''Eye Opener''. In 1903 he moved operations to Calgary, where the Eye-Opener became widely popular.Grant MacEwan.
Coyote Music and Other Humorous Tales of the Early West
'. Rocky Mountain Books Ltd; 1993. . p. 163–.William Bernard Fraser.
Calgary
'. Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada; 1967. p. 67–68. Through this outlet he poked fun at local politicians, government officials, clergymen and other well-known Calgary residents, and even invented fictitious people to lampoon.Pierre Berton.
The Promised Land: Settling the West 1896-1914
'. Doubleday Canada; 10 August 2011. . p. 118–. Edwards took to publishing negative stories on the Canadian Pacific Railway and those employed by the organization, including

R. B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in ...

and CPR Western Superintendent John Stoughton Dennis. Edwards took care to publish any stories and photographs of CPR train wrecks, with an emphasis on those occurring in downtown Calgary. Eventually the ''Eye-Opener'' was banned from CPR passenger cars as an "obscene publication”. Growing dissatisfied with Calgary, he moved to Port Arthur, Ontario, then to Winnipeg, finally returning to Calgary in 1911 and continued with the Eye-Opener.

Politics

Edwards was elected in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

as an Independent candidate.
Peoples of Alberta: Portraits of Cultural Diversity
'. Western Producer Prairie Books; 1985. . p. 117. He was one of five MLAs elected in a plurality vote in that election. He immediately began advocating for the ready availability of beer and the prohibition of stronger alcoholic beverages, in spite of the fact that he himself was an alcoholic.Candace Savage.
Our Nell: A Scrapbook Biography of Nellie L. McClung
'. Formac Publishing Company Limited; 27 January 2014. . p. 153–.

Death and legacy

Edwards died November 14, 1922.Ted Byfield.
Brownlee and the triumph of populism
'. United Western Communications; 1996. p. 60. He was buried in Calgary's Union Cemetery.I Bob Edwards Junior High School in

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 ...

, Alberta is named in his honour. The Bob Edwards Award has been presented annually since 1977 to a provocative Canadian who is not afraid to speak his or her mind. Notable recipients have included

Rick Mercer Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and '' Rick Merc ...

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

and Preston Manning. Originally supporting Alberta Theatre Projects as a fundraising luncheon, in 2012 the event moved to the Calgary Public Library Foundation as their signature gala. The long-running Calgary Eyeopener morning show on CBC Radio One in Calgary is named after Edwards' newspaper.

References