Michael Copps Costello (August 2, 1875 – March 22, 1936) 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 ...

printer, a medical graduate (who never practiced his profession) and the 19th mayor of

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, holding office from 1915 to 1919.

Early life

William Costello was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1875 to John William Costello and Elizabeth Copps. As a child, he was known as Copps Costello, the name by which he is described in the 1891 census for Calgary, having been enumerated as Michael William Costello in the 1881 census for Renfrew Village, Ontario. In adult life, he changed his middle name to his mother's maiden name, Copps, the name by which he was generally known. Copps arrived in Calgary on the historic first train to the city in 1883. His early education was in Calgary and he became an apprentice printer. After completing his apprenticeship, he began working for the

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

. He went on to study medicine at Queen's University in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in 1904. He then went to

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a year's post-graduate education and continued with further medical studies at the Rotunda Hospital in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. While in Ireland, he visited his father's birthplace at Trienearagh,

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. He married Pearl Corrigan in Kingston in 1910. Michael's father John William Costello was a trustee of the Separate School District of the Northwest Territories, and chairman of the board from 1899 to 1904 which would later become the Calgary Catholic School Board. The John Costello Catholic School is named in his honour.

Political career

On his return to Calgary, Costello entered municipal politics. In 1913 and 1914, he was an alderman on

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

. In the latter year, he was chosen to carry the responsibilities of acting mayor, during Mayor Sinnott's absence of three months. In the election that year, he was elected Mayor of Calgary. He spent four years as mayor from January 2, 1915, to January 2, 1919. Costello served as president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in 1915–1916. Costello ran unsuccessfully for mayor in the 1922 municipal election. He ran unsuccessfully as a

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MLA candidate in the Calgary electoral riding in the

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and 1926 Alberta general elections.

Later life

Following his retirement from the mayoralty, Costello became connected with the Calgary Iron Works, where he worked in an executive capacity for many years before retiring for health reasons. Costello was a founding member of the Southern Alberta Pioneer and Old Timers' Association and served as Grand Knight on the Calgary Council of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. Costello died in 1936, aged 60 and is buried in Saint Mary's Pioneer Cemetery in Calgary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Michael Copps Mayors of Calgary 1875 births 1936 deaths Politicians from Montreal Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian Roman Catholics 20th-century mayors of places in Alberta