Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Aberhart, Bible Bill
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
William "Bible Bill" Aberhart, 1878-1943, was born in Ontario. He studied at the Hamilton Normal School and was granted his BA from Queen's University in 1911. In 1902 he married Janet Jessie Flatt, 1878-1966, and they had two children, Ola (MacNutt), 1905-2000, and Khona (Cooper), 1903-2000. In 1910 they moved to Calgary, Alberta and Aberhart became a high school principal. He was principal of Crescent Heights High School, 1915-1935. He ran popular bible classes, and in 1925 began his Sunday afternoon radio broadcasts, called the "Back to the Bible Hour". In 1927 he opened the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute, and two years later founded the Bible Institute Baptist Church. In 1932 he became interested in the monetary ideas of Major C.H. Douglas, who espoused state supervision of credit and dividend payments to citizens.
He founded the Social Credit League, and in 1935 became the premier of Alberta when Social Credit swept the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) government from power. The government was unable to implement Aberhart's proposed reforms because the legislation was disallowed by the federal government. Aberhart died in office. In 1974 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated Aberhart as a National Historic Person.
For further information see Bible Bill / David R. Elliott and Iris Miller. - Edmonton : Reidmore Books, 1987.