EDWARD REVERE OSLER, 1895-1917

Edward Revere Osler, Revere as he was called, was the only living child of William and Grace Revere Osler. Both of Revere's parents were in their forties when he was born, and they doted on him, but in his early childhood his day-to-day needs were attended to by a Baltimore nurse, and, later, when his parents developed an interest in English discipline and education, an English nanny.

When William Osler accepted the position of Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and moved his family to England in 1905, the decision was made partly on the basis of Revere's education - the Oslers did not want him to be educated in America. He attended the Dragon School at Oxford until the age of 13, and then Winchester College in Winchester, Hampshire. Revere was not a born scholar and his progress was worrisome enough that his parents hired tutors to prepare him for his matriculation exam at Oxford. He passed on his second attempt and became a student at Christ Church in 1914.

When war broke out in the same year, Revere was not old enough to serve, but withdrew from his classes to train in the Oxford Officers Training Corps. As soon as he was of age, in 1915, he joined the McGill Medical Unit, assisting in the treatment of wounded soldiers. But he could not resist the temptation to fight, and in 1916 Revere joined the Royal Field Artillery. He died the next year of wounds sustained in a German attack near Ypres, Belgium, and was buried in Flanders. Coincidentally, Harvey Cushing, a long-time Osler family friend, was serving in a medical unit nearby when Revere was injured and was present to treat him and attend his burial.

Unlike his father, Revere was not scientifically inclined. His were more artistic talents, and he was interested in art, architecture, and photography. But Revere and his father shared a passion for book collecting, and Revere had begun to amass a small personal collection of rare volumes. After his death, his books were donated to Johns Hopkins University and formed the foundation of the library of the newly-founded Tudor and Stuart Club.