Herbert Charles Wilson

Infobox Politician (general)
name= Herbert Charles Wilson


imagesize=200px
title= Member of Territorial Council for Edmonton
term_start= September 15, 1885
term_end= November 7, 1891
predecessor= Frank Oliver
successor= Frank Oliver
title2= Presiding Officer of the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories
term_start2= June 30, 1888
term_end2= November 7, 1891
predecessor2= Hugh Richardson
successor2 = James Hamilton Ross
title3= Mayor of Edmonton
term_start3= February 10, 1892
term_end3= January 14, 1895
predecessor3= Matthew McCauley
successor3= Cornelius Gallagher
birth_date= December 7, 1859
birth_place= Picton, Ontario
death_date= December 17, 1909
death_place=
party= Independent
residence=
spouse= Emily Lee
profession= Doctor
religion=
footnotes=

Herbert Charles Wilson (December 7, 1859 – December 17, 1909) was a politician in Alberta, Canada, mayor of Edmonton, and presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Biography

Wilson was born in Picton, Ontario on December 7, 1859. He attended Upper Canada College for high school and graduated from the Ontario College of Pharmacy in 1878 and from Trinity Medical School in 1882, the year he came to Edmonton. In Edmonton, he practised both medicine (as the town's third doctor) and pharmacy, operating a drugstore that was later purchased by Philip Daly.

He was elected to the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories in 1885, defeating incumbent Frank Oliver, remaining on the council until its abolition in 1888, when he was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. He was elected as its first Speaker, a capacity in which he served until the assembly's dissolution in 1891. He did not seek re-election to the assembly by reason of ill health.

In 1886 he married Emily Lee. The couple had three children: Charles, Violet, and Marjorie.

In 1895 he was elected mayor of Edmonton, defeating John Alexander McDougall, himself a future mayor. He faced no opposition to his re-election bid in 1896, but resigned later that year due to a dispute over town funds. He attempted a comeback in 1904 as he ran for alderman, but he was defeated, finishing fourteenth of seventeen candidates.

Wilson was president of the Edmonton Liberal Conservative Association and, from 1907, of the Alberta Medical Association. He died December 17, 1909.

References

* [http://www.archivescanada.ca/english/search/ItemDisplay.asp?sessionKey=1143412449030_206_191_57_196&l=0&lvl=2&v=0&coll=1&itm=219321&rt=1&bill=1 Archives Canada biography of Herbert Charles Wilson]
* [http://www.epl.ca/Elections/results/EPLBiographiesLetter.cfm?id=W Edmonton Public Library biography of Herbert Charles Wilson]