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

, 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