Michael Copps Costello (August 2, 1875 – March 22, 1936) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

printer, a medical graduate (who never practiced his profession) and the 19th mayor of

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, holding office from 1915 to 1919.

Early life

William Costello was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

in 1875 to John William Costello and Elizabeth Copps. As a child, he was known as Copps Costello, the name by which he is described in the 1891 census for Calgary, having been enumerated as Michael William Costello in the 1881 census for Renfrew Village, Ontario. In adult life, he changed his middle name to his mother's maiden name, Copps, the name by which he was generally known. Copps arrived in Calgary on the historic first train to the city in 1883. His early education was in Calgary and he became an apprentice printer. After completing his apprenticeship, he began working for the

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

. He went on to study medicine at Queen's University in Kingston in 1904. He then went to

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

for a year's post-graduate education and continued with further medical studies at the Rotunda Hospital in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

. While in Ireland, he visited his father's birthplace at Trienearagh,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He married Pearl Corrigan in Kingston in 1910. Michael's father John William Costello was a trustee of the Separate School District of the Northwest Territories, and chairman of the board from 1899 to 1904 which would later become the Calgary Catholic School Board. The John Costello Catholic School is named in his honour.

Political career

On his return to Calgary, Costello entered municipal politics. In 1913 and 1914, he was an alderman on

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

. In the latter year, he was chosen to carry the responsibilities of acting mayor, during Mayor Sinnott's absence of three months. In the election that year, he was elected Mayor of Calgary. He spent four years as mayor from January 2, 1915, to January 2, 1919. Costello served as president of the

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association 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 Territ ...

in 1915–1916. Costello ran unsuccessfully for mayor in the 1922 municipal election. He ran unsuccessfully as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MLA candidate in the Calgary electoral riding in the

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and

1926 Alberta general election The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in t ...

Later life

Following his retirement from the mayoralty, Costello became connected with the Calgary Iron Works, where he worked in an executive capacity for many years before retiring for health reasons. Costello was a founding member of the Southern Alberta Pioneer and Old Timers' Association and served as Grand Knight on the Calgary Council of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. Costello died in 1936, aged 60 and is buried in Saint Mary's Pioneer Cemetery in Calgary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Michael Copps Mayors of Calgary 1875 births 1936 deaths People from Montreal Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian Roman Catholics 20th-century Canadian politicians