William Morley Kilbourn,
CM,
FRSC (1926–1995) was a Canadian author and historian in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. Kilbourn's topics cover history, biography, religion and the arts, with a focus on Toronto; he penned over a dozen books. He was married to the Rev. Elizabeth Kilbourn.
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Kilbourn was educated at
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
University of Trinity College
Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...
in the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
. Following this he completed degrees in modern history at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Harvard universities. He later taught at
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
and Harvard.
Kilbourn served for five years as the first chairman of humanities at
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, seven years on 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 c ...
, and as an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
. He was also founding chairman of the Toronto Art Therapy Institute and the Toronto Distress Centre, a member of the Toronto Historical Board, the boards of the
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 Young People's Theatre, and served as chairman of the Toronto Arts Council. Kilbourn was also a member of the executives of the
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...
and the Canadian commission for
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
Kilbourn was elected to the
Royal Society of Canada in 1980.
Works
* ''The Firebrand: William Lyon Mackenzie and the 1837 Rebellion'';
Clarke, Irwin, Toronto; 1956.
* ''Toronto Remembered: a Celebration of the City''
* ''William Kilbourn, "Introduction", "Tory Ontario", "Two Styles of Historian: Donald Creighton and Frank Underhill", and "Harol Town Talk", in ''Canada: A guide to the Peaceable Kingdom'' Toronto:
Macmillan of Canada, 1970.
[9.]''
External links
William Kilbourn fonds
References
*William Kilbourn Ed., ''A Guide to the Peaceable Kingdom'' (Toronto: Macmillan, 1970), xi-xviii, 113-6, 274-9,315-9.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilbourn, William
1926 births
1995 deaths
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Harvard University alumni
Harvard University faculty
Members of the Order of Canada
Toronto city councillors
Trinity College (Canada) alumni
University of Toronto alumni
Upper Canada College alumni
Writers from Toronto
20th-century Canadian historians