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, an Inspector of Factories. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

, before matriculating at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he studied mathematics. Osborn worked for a period under W. E. Henley on the ''National Observer'', alongside

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

. 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 ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and other British journals. The majority of Osborn's journalistic career was spent as literary editor of ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'', which was later absorbed by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. He remained an employee of the combined newspaper for the rest of his life. In addition to his newspaper work, Osborn was also an accomplished author, writing books on a wide range of subjects, including Greek and Roman civilisation and the Middle Ages. He was the editor of the highly successful anthology of British war poetry '' The Muse in Arms'', described as "the most celebrated collection of the war years." Twice married, Osborn had two sons and two daughters. He died on 8 October 1938 in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, West London.

Bibliography

* ''Greater Canada: The Past, Present and Future of the Canadian North-West'' (1900) * ''The Maid with Wings: And Other Fantasies, Grave to Gay'' (1917) * '' The Muse in Arms'' (1917) * ''The New Elizabethans, a First Selection of the Lives of Young Men Who Have Fallen in the Great War'' (1919) * ''Our Debt to Greece and Rome'' (1924) * ''The Middle Ages'' (1928)

References

External links

Text of ''The Muse in Arms''
British journalists British writers 1867 births 1938 deaths People educated at Rossall School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford {{UK-journalist-stub