Charles Frederick "Fred" Bodsworth (October 11, 1918 – September 15, 2012) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and amateur

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. Born in Port Burwell,

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 ...

, Bodsworth worked as a journalist for the '' St. Thomas Times-Journal'', ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'', and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'', where he also served as assistant editor. From 1964 to 1967, he was president of the

Federation of Ontario Naturalists Ontario Nature ''(formally the Federation of Ontario Naturalists)'' is an environmental charity based in Toronto, that promotes the conservation of wild species and spaces in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was established in 1931 as the Fed ...

. Bodsworth received the

Matt Cohen Prize The Matt Cohen Award is an award given annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a Canadian writer, in honour of a distinguished lifetime contribution to Canadian literature. First presented in 2000, it was established in memory of Matt Cohen, a ...

in 2002 for his writing. He died at Scarborough General Hospital in Toronto. Bodsworth was predeceased by his wife Margaret Banner. The Port Burwell branch of the

Elgin County Elgin County ( ) is a county composed of seven municipalities in Ontario, Canada with a 2021 population of 51,912. Its population centres are Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated ...

Library was renamed in his honour in 2005.

Bibliography

Source: * ''

Last of the Curlews ''Last of the Curlews'' is a novel, a fictionalized account of the life of the last Eskimo curlew. It was written by Fred Bodsworth, a Canadian newspaper reporter and naturalist, and published in 1954. Plot introduction The story follows the b ...

'' (1955) , * ''The Strange One'' (1959) * ''The Atonement of Ashley Morden'' (1964) * ''The Sparrow's Fall'' (1967) * ''Pacific Coast'' (1970)

References

1918 births 2012 deaths Canadian male novelists Canadian naturalists Canadian nature writers Journalists from Ontario People from Elgin County 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Novelists from Ontario {{Canada-writer-stub