E. B. Osborn

Not to be confused with Edward B. Osborne.

Edward Bolland Osborn (1867–1938) was a British journalist, author and editor. Born in London in 1867, Osborn was the first son of Edward Haydon Osborn,[1] an Inspector of Factories.[2] He was educated at Rossall School, before matriculating at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics.[1][3]

Osborn worked for a period under W. E. Henley on the National Observer, alongside J. M. Barrie and H. G. Wells. In 1895, owing to ill-health, he travelled to Canada for a year's holiday, but ended up staying until 1900. During this time, he made a special study of Canadian history and development, publishing Greater Canada in 1900, whilst also writing occasionally for The Times and other British journals.[3]

The majority of Osborn's journalistic career was spent as literary editor of The Morning Post, which was later absorbed by The Daily Telegraph. He remained an employee of the combined newspaper for the rest of his life.[2]

In addition to his newspaper work, Osborn was also an accomplished author,[2] writing books on a wide range of subjects, including Greek and Roman civilisation and the Middle Ages.[4] He was the editor of the highly successful anthology of British war poetry The Muse in Arms,[5] described as "the most celebrated collection of the war years."[4]

Twice married, Osborn had two sons and two daughters. He died on 8 October 1938 in Ealing, West London.[2]

  1. ^ a b Foster, Joseph (1893). Oxford men, 1880–1892. James Parker & Co. p. 454.
  2. ^ a b c d "JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Late Mr. E. B. Osborn of Ealing". The West Middlesex Gazette. 15 October 1938. p. 15. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Morgan, Henry James (1912). The Canadian men and women of the time (2nd ed.). William Briggs. p. 873.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b Sillars, Stuart (2007). Fields of Agony: British Poetry of the First World War. Humanities-Ebooks. p. 33. ISBN 9781847603142.
  5. ^ Kendall, Tim, ed. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of British and Irish War Poetry. Oxford University Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780199282661.