Charles R. Bowen (1923 – May 17, 1992) was a politician in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

from 1973 to 1980. Bowen was born in

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

and served in the

Canadian army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

for five years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from the Canadian Institute of Science and Technology as a mechanical engineer. Bowen later received a

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

degree from

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, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1977 and was ordained at the city's First

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church later in the year. Bowen first ran for municipal office in Brantford in 1958 and was first elected to council in 1963, when he won a seat in Brantford's fifth ward. He served as a councillor until being elected as mayor of Brantford in the 1972 municipal election. He was re-elected in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. Bowen and alderman William Tovell were sued by the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

in 1978, following non-payment for an August 1978 concert to raise money for Brantford's Capital Theatre. The business manager for Boston Pops charged that Bowen had guaranteed on the night of the concert that the sixty thousand dollar fee would be guaranteed by the city. Bowen denied that he had made this promise, and his claim was supported the city solicitor. The case was settled out of court in 1981. Arthur Kelly Jr., the son of the concert organizer, later wrote that Bowen had promised the money would be paid after overhearing a conversation between his father and the orchestra's business manager. Kelly added that the Pops was aware of the concert's shaky financial status and asserted that "if Bowen had kept his mouth shut ..there would have been no lawsuit." Bowen was defeated by challenger

Dave Neumann David Emil Neumann (born October 5, 1941) is a politician in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. He was the mayor of Brantford, Ontario, Brantford from 1980 to 1987 and served in the Legislative Assembly of Ont ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. He was re-elected to council in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and served another three-year term before being defeated in 1991."New Brantford mayor shocked by victory," ''Hamilton Spectator'', 13 November 1991, B10. He died the following year.

References

External links

Mayors of Brantford
Brantford Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Charles 1923 births 1992 deaths Mayors of Brantford Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario