William Short (January 11, 1866 – January 27, 1926) 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
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and a two time mayor of
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 ...
.
Biography
Short was born July 11, 1866 near
Elora, Ontario
Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture and the geographically significant Elora Gorge.
Elora is no longer an independent enti ...
and studied law at 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 ...
before coming to Alberta in 1889. He articled to
James Alexander Lougheed
Sir James Alexander Lougheed, ( or ; 1 September 1854 – 2 November 1925) was a businessman, lawyer and politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a senator for 35 years, and held a number of Cabinet positions.
Early life
Lougheed was bor ...
from 1891 until 1894, when he was called to the provincial bar. That year, he moved to Edmonton and opened a law practice before partnering with
Charles Cross in 1900 to form Short & Cross (which still exists today under the name Duncan Craig LLP). He married Henrietta McMaster on February 7, 1900; the pair had one son and one daughter.
In
1899
Events January 1899
* January 1
** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City.
* January 2 –
**Bolivia sets up a c ...
, Short was elected to sit as a public school trustee, which he did until he was acclaimed as mayor during the
1901 election. He faced no opposition to his re-election bid in
1902
Events
January
* January 1
** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...
, and defeated his former school board colleague H. C. Taylor in the
1903 election to retain the title. This allowed him to be mayor when Edmonton's status changed from town to city in 1904, and to author the city charter. He did not seek another term in the
1904 election. During this first stint as mayor, Short oversaw the extension of the railroad to the north side of the
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...
in 1902 (an event which occasioned the proclamation of a civic holiday by Mayor Short).
He returned to the mayoralty in
December 1912 by defeating two candidates, including future mayor
Joseph Clarke. His re-election bid in
1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
was foiled by
William McNamara
William West McNamara (born March 31, 1965) is an American film and television actor.
Personal life
Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a Ford Motor Company employee and an interior designer. He attended Salisbury School, Columbia Un ...
, making him the first mayor in Edmonton's history to lose a re-election bid. After this defeat, Short did not return to politics.
William Short was active with the
Masons, the Edmonton Board of Trade, and the
Conservative Party of Alberta. He was also an enthusiastic motorist and owned one of Edmonton's first automobiles. He died January 27, 1926.
William Short Road in Edmonton is named in his honour.
Sources
Edmonton Public Library biography of William ShortCity of Edmonton biography of William ShortHistory of Duncan & Craig law firmReal Estate Weekly account of the history of the railroad in Edmonton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, William
1866 births
1926 deaths
Mayors of Edmonton
University of Toronto alumni
Lawyers in Alberta
People from Centre Wellington
20th-century Canadian politicians